Zhang was previously the first employee and Head of Sales for Human Interest, a Silicon Valley-based financial services technology company. Prior to that, she worked for the President of Microsoft Asia-Pacific in Singapore, as a regional manager for Groupon China (JV with Tencent), and for McKinsey & Co. In the public sector, Zhang worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the World Bank's International Finance Corporation in Nairobi, Kenya, and the U.S. Department of Labor's International Economics team in Washington DC. Her languages include English, Chinese, French, and some Spanish. Zhang holds a BA from Harvard University, majoring in Economics and Government, an MPA from Princeton University, and an MBA from Stanford University.

Manske was previously a diplomat for the US Department of State working in Asia, the Middle East, and Washington DC. As a Foreign Service Officer, he worked on US economic negotiations and foreign investments. His initiatives included coordinating $500m of financing for a Middle Eastern government, launching a $6m tax and customs consultancy project, and organizing overseas congressional visits. He was also the founder of Verdiq, a social polling and news aggregation website. His languages include English, Chinese, French, React.js, Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. Manske holds a BA from Harvard University, majoring in Government and East Asian Studies, and an MBA from INSEAD in Paris. He also studied for a year at Peking University.