Nanshan (Nathan) Xu, born and raised in Shanghai, is an MBA/MPP in global affairs joint degree student at Yale, studying U.S.-China relations and business and societal challenges facing technology innovation and competition. Nathan joined a boutique investment bank based in New York and advised clients on cross-border financing and M&A transactions for several early-stage biotech companies. During summers at Yale, Nathan interned at the Business Development department at Johnson & Johnson to find co-development, licensing, and acquisition deal opportunities to bring cutting-edge therapeutic solutions across borders. He received his BA in economics from Bard College, where he also investigated pressing social issues. As an undergraduate, he worked as a research assistant at Levy Economics Institute and assisted Professor James Andrew Felkerson in publishing a paper evaluating the Federal Reserve’s policy response to the financial crisis of 2007 – 2008. 
Nathan has also held multiple leadership roles at arts and cultural institutions, including the Acquisition Committee at the Guggenheim Museum and as a contributor to the U.S.-China Music Institute, which hosts an annual China Now Music Festival in New York City. Nathan is a strong advocate of cultural and art diplomacy in global affairs.