Biography

Over 17 years, Sophia has created sustainability strategy for enterprise business models. Sophia leads commercial outcomes with an emphasis on AI application and stakeholder engagement, including investors, boards of directors, and clients.

Sophia has been featured in leading business press and major books from respected publishers, and her work has been recognized with independent awards judged by peers and industry leaders.

Career

Sophia is the Chief Sustainability and Commercial Officer for SAP. There, she runs SAP’s global sustainability software business and corporate sustainability affairs. Sophia is charged with leading and growing a business, from strategy setting to product marketing and sales. Along with SAP’s Chief Product Officer for Sustainability, Sophia launches AI sustainable business process applications. Sophia also oversees the Office of the Chief Sustainability Officer, including SAP’s own goal. Her unique position bridges SAP’s ‘enabler’ power—leveraging software as a tool for customers—with its ‘exemplar’ function, demonstrating SAP’s own commitment to sustainability.

Previously she was the Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG for Cognizant, a Fortune 200 digital solutions and technology company. At Cognizant, she applied ESG solutions into tech and systemic thinking. Sophia founded the sustainability and ESG departments at Cognizant, introducing a sustainability business model, ESG governance, a net zero goal and voluntary and regulatory reporting.

Sophia was the first Chief Sustainability Officer at JetBlue Airways, where she shaped JetBlue and the aviation industry by instigating climate crises responses. She lead sustainability conversations with investors and owners, taking back their questions to further protect intangible brand and traditional financial value. Prior to JetBlue, Sophia was Head of Sustainability, Emerging Markets, for Haworth, a multinational manufacturer in the real estate industry. Previously, she worked for the Jane Goodall Institute in Shanghai. 

Leadership

Sophia is a business advisor to sustainability-native startups in stealth mode to pre-IPO. She also designed and taught the first ESG at Harvard Extension School. She has a master of science in sustainable management from Columbia University.

Sophia serves on boards and advisory councils.

Personal

She speaks Mandarin Chinese and is raising children in a mostly Mandarin environment. She continues to lead at work and be present at home, never pretending it is easy.