About Copper Bridge

Built at the intersection of law, sports and cross-border operations.

Copper Bridge Consulting is a U.S.-based sports business advisory and operating firm. We help established sports brands build their China business with greater control, and help athlete families make long-term development decisions with greater structure.

The firm was founded by Jiawei Mao (毛嘉威), whose experience spans legal practice, business operations and athlete development.

The Founder

A career shaped across different operating environments.

Jiawei began his career as a lawyer in China. Legal practice taught him to look beyond an attractive opportunity and examine the structure underneath it: who owns the assets, who controls the relationships, how incentives are aligned and what happens when circumstances change.

Before entering sports business, he helped a traditional publishing company build its online sales channels and operating platform from the ground up. Within a year of launch, the online channel accounted for approximately 30% of the company’s total sales. The work reinforced an operating principle that continues to shape Copper Bridge: strategy creates value only when it can be translated into systems, responsibilities and repeatable execution.

Jiawei later completed the Master of Sports Law and Business program, With Distinction, at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Together, these experiences provide the foundation for Copper Bridge’s two practices: building cross-border operating structures for sports brands and helping athlete families make disciplined decisions under uncertainty.

Why Copper Bridge

An operating alternative, built around client control.

I founded Copper Bridge because companies entering China are too often asked to choose between distant advice and premature local commitment.

A distributor may provide access but limited control. A traditional consulting engagement may produce recommendations without building the operating structure required to carry them out. Hiring a complete China team before the business has been validated creates fixed costs and organizational risk too early.

Copper Bridge is designed as an alternative: an external operating division that helps a brand establish the foundation, run the market and retain ownership of what is built. The objective is not to make the client permanently dependent on us. It is to build something the client can ultimately own, direct and, when the time is right, bring in-house.

The athlete practice follows the same principle. We do not claim to eliminate uncertainty or predict talent with false precision. We help families structure the decisions around development, competition, education and long-term opportunity—so uncertainty does not become disorder.

Background

Experience across structure and execution.

Start a Conversation

Start with the decision in front of you.

If you were referred to Copper Bridge or would like to discuss whether our approach fits your situation, we welcome a conversation.

Start a Conversationcontact@copperbridgesports.com