Strategic Alliances > Who We Are (Sierra Asia)

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"Sierra Asia delivers. For us in China, they brought access, built bridges, developed commanding positions and accelerated accomplishment in China... and we have been working successfully in China for over a decade.""
Patrick Jenevein
CEO
Tang Energy Group

"Lee guided us through the ins and outs of the Chinese business and entertainment world, allowing us to avoid many of the common mistakes newcomers to China make."
Robert Nederlander
Jr. President
Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment

"I am particularly impressed with Paula's ability to connect with senior Chinese clients. Her proven track record in adapting and excelling in new business environments and her abilities to understand, appreciate and leverage unique cultural intricacies and nuances will be of particular value to her clients."
Charles Li
Chairman
JP Morgan, China

"Lee Sands was essential to our efforts to establish the first sanctioned Cooperative Joint Venture in the highly sensitive youth culture oriented music business in China. The depth of his cultural awareness, linguistic skills and familiarity with Chinese Government personnel and process were the practical key to our success in our market entry strategy."
John Dolan
Former Senior Vice President of Business Development
Sony Music

Lee's "tenacity and street smarts win raves from U.S. business."
Business Week

Lee was commended for "developing a negotiating strategy for persuading China to drop a range of restrictions on foreign companies, and to phase out protection for state-run industries."
The New York Times

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WHO WE ARE

Strategic Alliances

In our more than four decades on the ground in China, Sierra Asia's principals have built strong strategic alliances that enable us to provide our clients and investors the best possible advice and services. These relationships also have expanded our specialized expertise and extended our geographic reach.

Viant Group (www.viantgroup.com)
Viant Group is an investment bank committed to providing clients with superior investment and advisory services. Viant team members have been involved in hundreds of M&A, private placement, IPO and investment transactions for a wide variety of clients, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars of value. The firm is renowned for creating execution strategies that are uncommonly smart and innovative and result in advantageous deal terms and long-term benefits for clients.

Viant Group focuses primarily on delivering financial advisory, investment banking and venture capital services to emerging, high growth companies and investors. Located in San Francisco, the firm's professionals include financial services veterans with a diverse set of backgrounds -- from legal to entrepreneurial and from operating executives to career investment bankers.

Viant Group knows how to get deals done in both challenging and prosperous times. It employs a proven execution model that comprises thorough initial research and transaction strategy, start-to-finish senior level attention, and sector-by-sector knowledge of transaction and valuation cycles. This model, along with the firm's many years of experience, enable clients to capitalize on their financial and strategic opportunities.

Scott Smith, Advisor
Mr. Smith is the Founder and Managing Partner of Viant Group and a Managing Director of Viant Capital. Mr. Smith also founded Neveric Capital, Viant's predecessor firm, in 1998 and has over twenty years of experience in investment banking, corporate law and company operations working primarily with technology, media and healthcare companies. Prior to Viant, Mr. Smith was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) where he was responsible for establishing the Silicon Valley office and was the co-head of the technology group. Before CSFB, Mr. Smith spent fifteen years with Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro as a Partner where he was responsible for founding the firm’s Silicon Valley venture capital office.

Paula Beroza, Advisor
Ms. Beroza has more than 25 years of experience in investment banking. She has originated, structured and marketed over $26 billion of new debt and equity issues of U.S. and international companies. She has raised more than $2 billion in financing and M&A transactions with Chinese companies, including some of mainland China's first international equity offerings.

Kyung Yoon, Senior Advisor
Kyung Yoon is a Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggles, the world’s leading executive search firm, specializing in top level cross-border executive and board search, as well as CEO coaching. Since joining the firm in 1994, Kyung has served as a bridge between the United States and Asia. Kyung was one of the key drivers in Heidrick & Struggles' Asia Pacific expansion, with previous management responsibility for the Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul offices. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Kyung was President of Benten Investments, Inc. Previously, she was President of Pacific Union Asset Management and Vice President of Dillingham Development Company. Kyung started her career with Banque Nationale de Paris.

Kyung serves on the board of directors of SVB Financial Group and is the Chairman of the Asia America MultiTechnology Association (AAMA). She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Asia Society; Stanford Project on Regions of Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s (SPRIE) Greater China Networks Project; Affinity Circles; Tertia, Inc. and The Commonwealth Club of California.

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