Ashley Brenner, BA, 2006

Field of Study: BA, Asian Studies - Chinese Studies (with Honors)

Graduation Year: 2006

Ashley Brenner is the Head of the China-US Corridor at HSBC Bank China, based in Shanghai. She works with Chinese headquartered companies to facilitate the financing of their cross border business into the US; including capital finance transactions; commercial banking; and general corporate treasury requirements including cash management, foreign exchange, and global trade & receivables finance. Prior to relocating to Shanghai in March 2017, Ashley was a Global Relationship Manager in the NYC office of HSBC Bank USA’s Corporate Bank, where she managed the international banking needs of a portfolio of public and private retailers with revenues of $2Bn-$30Bn. Prior to joining HSBC in 2011, Ashley held a variety of China related positions in the legal, education, and marketing fields.

During her undergraduate studies, Ashley was afforded the opportunity to study with top China Scholars across multiple disciplines, including pre-modern Chinese history, sociology, political science, and the Mandarin language. She completed her Honors thesis under the guidance of Professor Miranda Brown on pre-modern China displays of power focused in particular on the Han Dynasty’s control of the populace through the legal system, architecture, and means of communication. Her experiences in the classroom and out, while both studying and traveling throughout China contributed to Ashley’s desire to pursue further China studies and career opportunities in China. After she completed her undergraduate degree at Michigan, she went on to earn a master's degree from Harvard University’s Regional Studies of East Asia program in China Studies with a shift to focus on contemporary Chinese politics, and completed her Master’s thesis on a study of political and economic philosophers arguments around how to improve the standard of living of the largely agrarian populace before and after the reign of Chairman Mao. Originally from New York City, Ashley lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for ten years where she first learned to speak Mandarin. She is an avid Michigan fan, and has recently connected with the Pan-Asia Alumni Club in Shanghai. Go Blue!