Wenni Wu

Wenni Wu, chief growth officer at Piermont Bank, speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese fluently. Her language skills and cultural background—Wu was born in the U.S. and is a descendant of the Teochow Chinese community—helped land her first post-college position as a cross-border investment advisor for Chinese companies.

"It was back in the early 2010s, when there was a significant amount of [Chinese] investment into the real estate market in the U.S.," she recalled. One of the Chinese CEOs she worked with gave Wu a piece of advice that still resonates today. "He said that if you choose the right platform, it can elevate your skill. But if you choose the right people, you can build your own platform.