Our guest for today’s podcast is Vishal Bhutani, Chief Investment Officer of AMS Children’s Fund (AMS), a new fund launching in early 2025.  Together with David Gaynes, Vishal is forming AMS to capitalize on the growing interest by institutional investors in the Indian equity markets.  Vishal believes that the middle market opportunity in Indian equities is one of the best investment opportunities available today.  Leveraging his experience as an event driven portfolio manager, AMS believes it will be able to achieve superior risk adjusted returns.   Vishal has spent the bulk of his 20 year investment career as an Event Driven investor, investing across the capital structure.  Joining me on the podcast is Clark Cheng, CEO and CIO of Merrimac Corp, a large single family office with investments in hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and real estate AND David Gaynes, co-founder of AMS Children’s Fund.   So why should investors care about the Indian equity markets now?  Vishal provides many insights and answers why in this podcast.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Vishal Bhutani.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Darren Xu, Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager of Questline Capital. Questline Capital is a long/short equity fund focused on the gaming, media and communications sectors. After almost a decade as an investor at Farallon Capital Management, Darren decided to leave his job and will be launching his fund in the 1 st quarter of 2025. Darren started his career in investment banking in Mergers and Acquisitions at Citigroup after graduating with two degrees, one in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania and the other in Business from the Wharton School. I named this podcast “Living the dream: playing video games for fun and for work.” Literally, that is what Darren does. How fun is that? So, how does one create a career playing video games. Well, we are here to find out. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Darren Xu.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Dave Lu, Managing Partner of Hyphen Capital, an early stage venture capital firm focused on Asian American founders. Dave is a veteran of the technology industry, having founded two prior companies: Expo and Fanpop, as well as having worked at Apple, eBay, Cisco, Yahoo and Sony. Dave produced the Emmy-winning HBO documentary 38 at the Garden about Jeremy Lin. Amidst the rise of anti-Asian hate during the pandemic, Dave led a movement with an open letter signed by 8,000 leaders including President George Bush and the CEOs of Google, DoorDash, Zoom and others that was published in the Wall Street Journal and launched Stand with Asian Americans. Dave sits on the advisory board of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific Center and the Asian Pacific Fund. Dave received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his BA from the University of Pennsylvania. To say that Dave is a role model would be an understatement.  I applaud Dave for his selfless efforts to help inspire and galvanize change for the AAPI community.    Without further ado, here is our conversation with Dave Lu.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Raymond Chan, Partner at Atalaya Capital Management, a leading private credit firm.  Ray is responsible for the firm’s investing in Financial Assets, which focuses on sourcing and executing specialty finance and other private asset-backed transactions. Prior to joining Atalaya, Ray was a Partner and Co-Founder of TTM Capital, LLC, an investment firm focused on acquiring and lending against portfolios of financial and other assets. Previously, he was a Managing Director and co-head of the Assets Group at Highbridge/Zwirn Capital Management.     Earlier in his career, Ray was a member of the Principal Transaction and Principal Finance teams at Lehman Brothers and worked on numerous securitizations across multiple asset classes at Salomon Brothers. He began his career as a consultant at Price Waterhouse, followed by internal consulting and operations roles at Lehman Brothers. He holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University.   As our podcast listeners know, I have a bias for featuring successful Columbia alumni, my alma mater.  Ray’s success hits home for me as I knew him as a peer over 30 years ago and I am so happy for all the contributions he is making for the AAPI community, both professionally in his firms’s support of AAAIM and personally as a Board Member for Apex For Youth.    Without further ado, here is our conversation with Ray Chan. 

Our guest for today’s podcast is Tem Tumurbat, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Nomadic Venture Partners (NVP), where he focuses on fund strategy, fundraising, portfolio construction, valuation, and financial analysis.   Prior to co-founding NVP, Tem was an investment professional at Resource Capital Funds (RCF), a mining focused private equity investment firm, managing early to late stage investments. He de-risked companies, commercialized their businesses and successfully completed M&As that delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to investors.   Prior to RCF, Tem worked for Newmont Mining Corporation as a mining engineer and then project engineer. Tem also co-founded MNG Summit, a non-profit organization supporting Mongolian students and early career professionals.   Tem started his professional career as an entrepreneur where he started and operated a transportation company in college to help pay for college tuition and support extended family.   I found Tem’s story to be fascinating.  Joining me on the podcast and my guest co-host is Brian O’Neil, former CIO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and long time supporter of AAAIM.     Without further ado, here is our conversation with Tem Tumurbat.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Glenn Hosokawa, Director of Fixed Income at CalSTRS.  After over 25 years serving CalSTRS, Glenn will be retiring at the end of August 2024 and riding off into the sunset.  If you google or search for Glenn’s biography, you won’t be able to find anything.  I tried.  Glenn is as old school as they come and doesn’t have a social media profile.   For those that know Glenn, he is credited for building a world class Fixed Income investment division at one of the most admired places to work.  Glenn isn’t looking for any accolades as he just enjoyed coming in, day in day out, working hard to generate returns to help secure the retirement benefits of all the great teachers that serve the State of California.  Great mission, great guy, great career.   So who is Glenn and what is he known for?  Well, Glenn was gracious enough to share his story with me and my guest co-host Sylvia Owens from Kennedy Lewis Investment Management.     Without further ado, here is our conversation with Glenn Hosokawa. 

Our guest for today’s podcast is Gino Reina, Principal at SECOR Asset Management.  Gino is a portfolio manager and member of the client advisory team at SECOR, responsible for client relationship management and business development.  Gino has over 20 years of investment management industry experience, including time at Segal Advisors as Director of Research, UBS Paine Webber, and Neuberger Berman as a portfolio manager on the mutual fund wrap platform. Gino holds a Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University. In addition, he is a member of the CFA Society New York and Vice Chair of the CFA New Jersey Chapter. I’ve always found Gino to be very pleasant to be around.  In addition to his full time job, Gino is also a co-owner and restaurant entrepreneur of two pizza restaurants and an avid long distance runner, having completed a 100 mile ultra marathon. Needless to say, Gino is an interesting person to get to know!  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Gino Reina.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Bordon Lai, Managing Director at Beach Point Capital Management.  Bordon joined Beach Point in 2021 to help build out the firm’s private equity and special situation investing capabilities.   Bordon has been in the industry for over 20 years and was previously at Quilvest Private Equity, a global multi-family office with $5B of AUM. Prior to Quilvest, Bordon worked at Pegasus Capital Advisors and Vision Capital, where he invested under a flexible mandate in opportunistic investments in the middle market.   Bordon started out his career as an investment banking analyst at Wachovia Securities and Credit Suisse First Boston. Bordon earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and MBA from The Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania.   Joining me on the podcast as co-host is Agnes Tan, who recently graduated from Columbia Business School and will be co-hosting/hosting a handful of podcasts on behalf of AAAIM in the coming weeks.   So what does it take to be a successful private equity investor?  We asked Bordon and he was gracious enough to share good insights on how he differentiated himself.  Without further ado, please enjoy our conversation with Bordon Lai.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Ingrid Yin, Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Majority Owner of MayTech Global Investments, a New York–based firm that specializes in managing global growth portfolios. Yin started her career as a research scientist and then made a leap to the finance industry, where she worked as an analyst and honed her focus to identifying investment opportunities in Asia and in healthcare. In 2017, with her extensive global investing experience, Yin launched MayTech with her business partner, Nels Wangensteen. The investment team, based in New York City, has been investing globally on average for more than 20 years. MayTech believes that focusing on deep research, big long-term trends, and clients’ needs are the most important things for an investment firm. MayTech has significant research expertise in technology, healthcare, and emerging consumers sectors, where they see innovations will accelerate, therefore driving the growth of the global economy. Ingrid earned her B.S. from Beijing University, an M.B.A. from MIT Sloan School of Management, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from SUNY-Stony Brook. So who is Ingrid Yin, one of only a few Asian female led GPs?  We are grateful to Ingrid for sharing her story. Without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Ingrid Yin.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Pam Chan, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Mosaic, a new private market strategy within Lingotto that will invest across asset classes, industries, and capital structures, and will be anchored by Exor.  Pam’s mandate will be to invest in what she calls “the weird and wonderful” as she believes that flexible capital will create differentiated opportunities and sustained performance over the long term. Prior to joining Lingotto, Pam was the Chief Investment Officer and Head of Direct Private Opportunities at BlackRock. While at BlackRock, Pam co-founded and led the firm’s Alternative Solutions group which grew to over $12bn assets under management across a range of private market strategies and investment themes. Pam is a graduate of Harvard College magna cum laude and Harvard Business School with high honors. In 2020, Pam was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and was appointed a member of that organization’s Global Future Council on the Future of Responsible Investing and Women in Finance community. In 2022, Private Equity International included her on their list of Women of Influence in Private Markets. Joining me on the podcast as co-host is Agnes Tan, who recently graduated from Columbia Business School and will be co-hosting/hosting a handful of podcasts on behalf of AAAIM in the coming weeks. So what does it take to launch your own strategy and be seeded by one of the top investors in the world?  Well, Pam shares her secrets.  Without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Pam Chan.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Alka Goel, Founding Partner of Alkemi Growth Capital, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage healthcare and wellness focused companies based in Delhi. Alkemi became operational in 2018 and since then has committed to 10 companies in diverse sub-sectors such as hygiene, diagnostics, pharma supply chain, women’s reproduction, data digitization, etc. Prior to Alkemi, Alka was a partner in McKinsey’s global pharma and medical device practice & private equity practice based out of New York. At McKinsey, she worked for more than 100+ health care companies, advising them on a range of business issues - including M&A, go to market, operations, and organization. She completed her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 2000 and BA (Economics) from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi University.   Alka’s mission for Alkemi is to elevate the Health and Well-Being of the Indian consumer while maximizing returns to our shareholders.  Alkemi is interested in passionate entrepreneurs who are inspired by a vision, have boldness in their DNA, are not afraid of taking a few punches, persevere under uncertainty and most importantly build companies that can make an out-sized difference to consumer wellness and healthcare industry. Joining me on the podcast as co-host is Agnes Tan, who is a 2nd year MBA student at Columbia Business School.  Agnes spent her pre-business school career in Private Equity in the Phillipines and will be co-hosting/hosting a handful of podcasts on behalf of AAAIM in the coming weeks.   So what does it take to launch a venture capital firm despite not having a prior track record and how did Alka persevere and secure institutional capital?  Alka shares her approach on this podcast. Without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Alka Goel.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Eunice McHugh, Director of Private Credit at San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (“SFERS”).  Eunice is responsible for the buildout and management of the Private Credit portfolio, which has a 10% target allocation for the fund.  Eunice has led SFERS' Private Credit efforts (initially as part of the Fixed Income portfolio) since she joined SFERS in early 2013.  Under Eunice’s leadership, the Private Credit portfolio has delivered an annual return of 11% over the past decade, surpassing its benchmark by over 500 bps.    SFERS’ Private Credit portfolio is comprised of multiple alternative credit and credit-related strategies. These include investments in direct lending, mezzanine, credit opportunities, specialty finance including asset-based lending/structured credit and real assets-related credit, real estate debt, distressed/special situations, and other opportunistic strategies. In addition, SFERS’ Private Credit program is a global portfolio with investments across the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other emerging markets. Eunice is responsible for portfolio construction and leads investment research, due diligence, and manager selection across all these opportunities. Joining me on the podcast as co-host is Sylvia Owens who is a Partner at Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, an opportunistic credit manager focusing on event-driven situations in which a catalyst may unlock investment value. So what does it take to lead one of the top Private Credit portfolios in the business?  Well, Eunice was gracious enough to spend the time with us to share her story.  Without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Eunice McHugh.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Jonathan Xiong, former Asia-Pacific Co-CEO of Millennium.  After a 20+ year career in portfolio management working for some of the top investment houses in the business including Millennium, GSAM, Mellon Capital and Franklin Templeton, Jonathan has taken the bold step to start his own asset management business.   I was intrigued with Jonathan’s background after reading a Bloomberg article about him launching his own Asia multi-strategy fund. The platform model is dominated by the largest and most well established firms like Millennium, Citadel, and Point 72.  How could a small guy enter the market and compete with the Goliath’s in the business?   Well, I wanted to know and Jonathan was ready to share his story.  Without further ado, please enjoy our interview with Jonathan Xiong.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Amanda Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of Aurora Peak Capital, a mission-driven investment firm, dedicated to alleviating the U.S. housing affordability crisis through investments in below market-rate multifamily housing communities.   Amanda's first home in the United States was an affordable housing complex in Los Angeles County. Her family were Vietnam war refugees who were rescued by the U.S. Airforce from refugee camps and flown to California and placed in a Section 8 community. Amanda is grateful for the Section 8 housing complex because it filled her childhood with happy memories where her family had a safe and beautiful environment with a strong sense of community. Amanda is on a mission to ensure affordable housing parallels her childhood experience: provide low -income families a safe environment where they are proud to call home and can thrive against the backdrop of a housing crisis: lack of affordable, safe, and quality housing.   Amanda has over 20 years of real estate experience, starting her career as an underwriter and then transitioning to become a capital raiser for Starwood Capital’s notable opportunistic global funds, covering Asia and U.S. institutional investors.   So what does it take to launch your own real estate investment firm?  Authenticity, passion, and a fearless, kick-ass leader in Amanda Moore.  Without further ado, here is our podcast with Amanda Moore.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Soo Kim, Managing Partner and CIO of Standard General, an investment firm he started in 2007.  Soo also serves as Chairman of Bally's Corporation. Soo has been investing in special situations strategies since 1997, including as co-founder of Cyrus Capital Partners from 2005 to 2007 and at Och-Ziff Capital Management from 1999 to 2005, where he was a Principal and co-founder of its fixed income business. Before joining Och-Ziff, he was an analyst for the Capital Management Group at Bankers Trust Company from 1997 to 1999. Soo holds an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School, one of the top public high schools in New York City.  I always learn a lot whenever I interact with Soo so I know the audience will get a lot from this conversation.  Joining me on the podcast as co-host is Mike Kim, CIO of Lalia Capital, a single family office focused on private investments.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Soo Kim.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Eva Ho, General Partner of Fika Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm that invests in founders solving meaningful, systemic problems through the use of data, related AI-enabled technologies, and automation. While this horizontal thesis allows Fika Ventures to be fairly sector agnostic, the firm is especially drawn to innovations in enterprise software, fintech, marketplaces, and digital health.  Fika is investing out of their Fund III and has committed capital of over $300 million life to date.   Prior to Fika, Eva was a founding GP at Susa Ventures. She is a serial entrepreneur and founder, most recently a founding executive at Factual, a leading location data provider in Los Angeles. Prior, she was a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Google and Youtube for 5 years. Prior to Google, she was the head of marketing for Applied Semantics, a company that sold to Google in 2003. Eva holds an MBA from Cornell and a BA from Harvard.  Eva also graduated from one of the top high schools in the country, Boston Latin School.  And for those listeners who know me, I am biased as that is my high school.  In fact, Eva and I were high school classmates and we took many of the same AP classes together back in the day!   So, how does one get their start to becoming a great venture capitalist?  There isn’t a clear answer, but I know our listeners will get a lot from this interview.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Eva Ho.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Marcie Frost, Chief Executive Officer of CalPERS.  Marcie joined CalPERS as CEO in October 2016. She is the ninth CEO and second woman to head America's largest pension fund. As CEO, Marcie oversees an annual budget of $1.8 billion, an experienced team of 2,800 professionals, and three lines of business for the fund: pensions, health benefits, and investments. CalPERS administers a defined benefit retirement system for more than 1.9 million California public sector workers and their families. It is the nation's second-largest purchaser of health care benefits, covering more than 1.5 million lives. CalPERS' global investment portfolios stand at roughly $460 billion at the time of this recording. Under Marcie's leadership, CalPERS is focused on maximizing long-term investment returns to meet the fund's fiduciary responsibility to members and leverage the fund's global strength to drive sustainable markets. So how did Marcie land one of the most coveted jobs in the business?  What does it take to run one of the nation’s most influential pensions?  What is CalPERS looking for in the next CIO?  You want to know?  Well, we’ve got the answers. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Marcie Frost.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Arun Assumall, Global Head of Cross Asset QIS and Commodity Investor Products at Macquarie Group.  Since joining Macquarie in 2011, Arun has built an impressive global business within the bank by offering sophisticated investors access to beta and risk premia strategies commonly referred to as Quantitative Investment Strategies, QIS.  In a recent article published by Bloomberg, they estimate that over $370 billion in investor assets are currently tied to QIS offered by investment banks. So what does it take to build a global business from scratch?  And how did Arun, who started off in sales, do it?  Humility, luck, and not being afraid to hire people that are smarter than himself…. Congrats to Macquarie on becoming a market leader in QIS and Arun Assumall - a British Indian, an Asian leader, a champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – for leading the way.  And thanks to Arun for sharing his path on this podcast. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Arun Assumall.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Andy Lee, Managing Partner of Parallaxes Capital, an investment firm he founded in 2017 at the age of 26.  Previously, Andy was with Lone Star Funds and, with Lone Star’s support, he spun off to form Parallaxes Capital to take advantage of an esoteric and growing asset class – Tax Receivable Agreements (TRAs).   Andy is as smart and talented as they come, having entered college at 15 and earning his Bachelors in Finance and Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He went on to earn his Masters in Accountancy before joining Citigroup as an investment banker for his first job out of college.   Andy has been featured in publications including Institutional Investor, NBC, Forbes (as part of the 2020 Class of 30 under 30), ReOrg Radio and Fitch’s LevFin Insights.   Joining me on this podcast as co-host is Nicholas Pon, Investment Director at the YMCA Retirement Fund, where he is part of a team that manages over $8.5 billion in assets under management.  Nick’s expertise is on uncorrelated assets across public and private markets, where he focuses much of his time on evaluating hedge fund strategies.  Thanks to Nick for joining this podcast and taking the time to interview Andy.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Andy Lee.

Our guest for today’s podcast is David Ng, who is a Vice President at Avante Capital Partners, a boutique private credit firm with approximately $1 bn in AUM that harnesses the power of diversity and challenges the status quo.  David joined Avante in 2022 and is responsible for identifying, underwriting, executing and managing investment opportunities.   David has over 10 years of middle-market debt and equity experience. Prior to Avante, David worked as a Vice President in Partners Group’s NYC office, where he was responsible for originating, underwriting, structuring, and managing middle market credit investments across a diverse range of industries. Prior to Partners Group, he spent his formative years at Nomura and KPMG.   David is a member of AAAIM’s Norman Mineta co-hort program and we look forward to all the great things he will continue to do in his career and for the industry.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with David Ng.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Sarah Hammer, Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Fellow of the Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and who most recently served as Acting Secretary of the Dept of Banking for Commonwealth of PA and has now returned to her love for private capital investing and financial technology.  She is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching a course on financial regulation and alternative investments.  No stranger to public service, she also previously worked at the US Dept of Treasury as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and Director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy. She is a lifetime learner who instills the same passion in her students and with the Cypher Accelerator Program at Wharton supporting new startups in the fin tech space including blockchain and crypto.   Sarah has held various leadership positions throughout financial services in portfolio management, trading, marketing, research, and analytics at various firms like Vanguard, PIMCO, JP Morgan, BlackRock, and Tudor Investments. But it’s her love of learning and connecting folks that has led Sarah from finance to law to academia to public policy and back to financial technology and always with the [mindset] of being a public servant and serving the greater good. Without further delay, here is my conversation with Sarah Hammer.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Pedro Ramos, CEO of Somar Capital Management, a consumer focused equity long/short hedge fund he started in 2015 after perfecting his craft as a portfolio manager at Tremblant Capital.   Pedro combines strategy consulting, investment banking, entrepreneurial and buy-side public and private investing experience in multiple industries and countries. His investing activities have spanned multiple macro-economic and political scenarios (including the 1980s inflation, the 1990s dot.com bubble, the 2008 GFC, sovereign crisis, Brexit, and the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic).   Joining me as guest co-host on this podcast is Rich Cheung, who looks after Alternative Investments and Hedge Funds for the private bank arm of Truist Financial.  Rich is an experienced hedge fund allocator with over 20+ years experience in the space.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Pedro Ramos.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Damien Dwin, Founder and CEO of Lafayette Square, a national investment platform he founded in November 2020. Lafayette Square aims to create investment opportunities in overlooked places and underserved markets. We invest across asset classes and seek to provide robust risk-adjusted returns to investors while positively supporting people and communities.  By increasing access to economic opportunity, Lafayette Square is helping to build a more inclusive American economy. Previously, Damien served as Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brightwood Capital Advisors for 10 years, and prior to that, Damien had a very successful Wall Street career with the majority of his time spent at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Damien is an active thought leader on mass incarceration, economic inclusion, racial justice and representation, and the use of purpose and profit for good.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Damien Dwin

Our guest for today’s podcast is Chris Shen, Co-Founder and COO of Revere VC, a start-up that he co-founded with Eric Woo, a veteran of the venture capital fund of fund business.  Revere VC is looking to become “the Morningstar of Venture Capital” and is building the first rating system for evaluating early-stage venture capital firms.   Chris’ professional work experience is deep and wide where he has spent time as an investor and lawyer for over 15 years in the US and Greater China across public and private investments, asset management, and financial products.   Chris shares many insights on this podcast, from his journey to working in China, his time as a lawyer, building out a family office and starting Revere VC.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Chris Shen.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Victor Hu, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Lumos Capital Group, an investment firm focused on growth companies in the human capital development and education technology sectors globally. Lumos partners with companies that are creating better outcomes for individuals and institutions in the learning, teaching and talent markets. Victor believes deeply in the power of education to transform society and help people reach their full potential. Growing up in Asia and Africa, he saw how a commitment to investing in human capital is the foundation for lifting entire societies out of poverty. Victor’s career has been focused on the intersection of education, finance and technology. Prior to Lumos, Victor was a Managing Director and Global Head of Education Technology & Knowledge Services Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs.  Prior to Goldman Sachs, Victor also spent time as an attorney at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.  Victor received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from Amherst College. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Victor Hu.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Jon Grabel, CIO of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, also known as LACERA.   In his role, Jon has the responsibility for managing over $70 billion in AUM on behalf of LACERA’s active and retired members.   Prior to LACERA, Jon was the CIO for New Mexico PERA and the Montgomery County Public Schools.  In total, Jon has served the important role of CIO for over 12 years in the second act of his highly accomplished career.  Previously, Jon was a general partner at a private equity firm focused on growth-stage investments in technology, networking industries, and digital communications. Jon spent his formative years as an investment banker and licensed CPA.  He received his Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I have to say, despite all his credentials and accomplishments, I am not sure if you will find a more humble and down to earth guy than Jon.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Jon Grabel.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Ellen Hung, Deputy CIO at the State Universities Retirement System (also knowns as SURS), which is based in Champaign, Illinois.  As Deputy CIO, Ellen oversees over $22bn in fund assets and works closely with the CIO on asset allocation and implementing new initiatives across the fund.  More recently, Ellen helped to develop SURS’ Crisis Risk sleeve which includes allocations to systematic trend following managers, long duration managers, as well as alternative risk premia managers.   I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Ellen given we share many common experiences growing up as kids of Chinese immigrant parents that didn’t speak English and hustled to give their kids the ability to chase the American dream.  It is no surprise that under Ellen’s leadership that SURS is well known as a large supporter of diverse investment managers with over 40% of the portfolio managed by diverse firms.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Ellen Hung.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Anthony Chiu, Deputy CIO at the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority based in Louisville, Kentucky.  As Deputy CIO, Anthony is part of a team of 4 that oversees approximately $22 bn in fund assets.  Anthony’s specific focus is on the fund’s private equity and alternatives program.   Anthony is as talented as they come, having graduated as valedictorian of his high school, attending Stanford, and qualifying as a contestant on the game show, Jeopardy!  In 2016, after spending his formative years learning the craft of private equity at GE, being an equity long/short analyst at a hedge fund, and spending time as an asset allocator sourcing and evaluating external managers across both public and private markets, Anthony returned home and joined the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority, rising to his current role as Deputy CIO this past summer in 2022.   Anthony’s depth and breadth of experience is enviable and I hope the audience enjoys my conversation with him.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Anthony Chiu.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Gretchen Tai, VP of Investments at CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer.  In her role, Gretchen effectively serves as the CIO and has a team of 7 investment professionals that oversees $10 billion in assets.   Gretchen joined CSAA in 2019 after serving as a portfolio manager at SECOR Asset Management, a boutique global asset management firm known for providing comprehensive and customized solutions to a wide array of institutional clients.  Prior to that, Gretchen spent 13 years at HP, including the last 6 years as the CIO of HP’s pension and 401(k) assets.   So what does it take for an Asian female to rise to the top of her profession?  You have questions, we have answers.  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Gretchen Tai.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Scott Chan, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (better known as CalSTRS).  CalSTRS is the largest teachers’ retirement system and second largest public pension fund in the United States.  A world-class financial services institution and state agency, CalSTRS is known for its unique organizational culture which emphasizes customer service, leadership and respect for its members and colleagues.   What a pleasure it was for me and fellow AAAIM Board member, Susan Soh, to hear Scott’s background and his path to becoming one of the most powerful people in finance.  As Deputy CIO, Scott oversees CalSTRS’ investment division and is responsible for leading a diverse and growing team of over 200 investment professionals. He manages eight critical investment functions including investment strategy and risk, global equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, risk mitigating strategies, inflation sensitive and sustainable investment and stewardship strategies. What a mouthful…  And, he reports directly into the great Chris Ailman who is highly regarded to be one of the best CIOs in the business.   Direct investing; getting to net zero; embracing diversity, equity and inclusion – you want it, Scott delivers it…  Without further ado, here is our conversation with Scott Chan.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Amie Patel, CEO of Elevar Equity, a venture capital impact firm with headquarters in India.   Elevar Equity fuels the economic resilience and vibrancy of underserved customers and low income communities by investing early growth capital in entrepreneurs building at the intersection of inclusivity, affordability and massive scale. Led by an entrepreneurial emerging markets team passionate about addressing issues of access and inequity, Elevar invests in businesses that demonstrate a direct correlation between high impact and returns. So far in its 15-year journey, the Elevar Method of investing has democratized essential products and services for over 40 million households and catalyzed billions of dollars of capital into 40+ companies across India and Latin America.   What a treat it was for me to interview Amie who is one of the kindest, most authentic do gooders” that I have come across in the business.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Amie Patel.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Brian O’Neil, Chief Investment Officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Brian is a legend in the business and has been at the helm of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the past 20 years helping to grow its foundation to well over $14 billion in AUM.  Effective January 1st, 2023, Brian will be retiring from his role as CIO.   What a pleasure it was for me and AAAIM Executive Committee Board Co-Chair Brenda Chia to interview Brian, a long time supporter of AAAIM since its founding in 2006.  In addition to being known as a great investor and steward of capital, Brian is also known for having started an emerging manager program and being a great developer of talent.  We are grateful to Brian for sharing his insights on the topics of diversity and inclusion, talent management, and the secrets for how to get promoted to the coveted CIO position at an E&F.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Brian O’Neil.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Jane Ma who is a Managing Director at Moelis & Company where she specializes in advising clients in the Asset Management and Wealth Management sector. She has over 15 years of investment banking experience. Prior to joining Moelis & Company, Jane worked at both Greenhill and Deutsche Bank focusing on M&A. Jane holds a B.S. in Applied Economics & Management from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. I met Jane at AAAIM’s National Conference in September and I found her to be pleasant, confident and knowledgeable – all things needed to be successful in the ultra-competitive field of M&A banking.   Jane’s a role model for the AAAIM community and those looking to break the bamboo ceiling. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Jane Ma.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Eugene Zhang, Founder & Partner of TSVC, a venture capital firm he started in 2010 to focus on seed stage investing.  An engineer by training, Eugene spent his formative years working for a number of the top tech companies in our time including Sun Microsystems, Cisco and Juniper Networks.  After successfully selling his own side hustle tech startup, Eugene took an interest in angel investing, subsequently catapulting his second career as a venture capitalist.   TSVC is now on its 5th fund in 12 years.  It’s first fund is known for having invested in Zoom Video Communications when Eric Yuan raised its first $3mn in capital raise back in 2010.  TSVC’s cost basis was $0.11 per share.  Not bad so say the least! Want to hear Eugene’s story about why he invested in Eric Yuan at Zoom back in 2010 when other venture capitalists passed.  Well, we got it here for you.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Eugene Zhang.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Grace Chen, Founder and CEO of Upmarket.  Upmarket opens up alternative investment opportunities to qualified individual investors. Qualified investors now have direct access to selected private equity, hedge funds and other alternative private fund offerings with lower investment minimums, simplified online subscription and post reporting process. UpMarket aims to serve those who want to achieve a truly diversified portfolio by giving them exceptional alternative investment opportunities.   Some of upmarket’s past deals include pre-IPO shares in Space X and Bytedance and one of their current deals provides access to Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z)’s latest fund.   Grace is an inspiration to the AAAIM community being an Asian female entrepreneur, having started upmarket at age 30.   Without further ado, please enjoy our conversation with Grace Chen.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Amy Chen, Chief Investment Officer at the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, educational and research complex.  Amy oversees overall investment strategy and management of the institution’s endowment.  Under Amy’s leadership since 2006, the investment office has grown from $800 million to $2.5 billion while distributing $1 billion along the way… not bad!   Amy credits the culture of the organization and why having the right governance structure is key to being successful and maintaining the high level of success over time.  Fun fact: her senior leadership team’s average tenure is over 13 years, which is unprecedented in the money management space.   Curious about what it takes to be one of the top CIOs in the business?  Well, Amy shares many insights with the audience during this podcast.   Without further ado, please enjoy our conversation with Amy Chen.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Fiona Lui, who is the Chief Operating Officer for Financial Solutions at Bloomberg LP.   Over a 22+ year career in finance, Fiona has enjoyed amazing success climbing the corporate ladder at various investment banks as well as at Bloomberg, the market leader for financial data and news.  Capital markets, structured derivatives, structured product sales, market data specialist, Head of Sales, COO…. Fiona has thrived in all of these roles and shares some of the secrets to her success on this podcast.   Without further ado, please enjoy our conversation with Fiona Lui.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Ying Cao, Founder and CEO, LIYT, an executive coaching firm and Co-Founder of Work in Fintech, an educational and recruiting firm launched to inspire and guide students, graduates, and young professionals to a career in fintech and web3.   After a 14+ year career on Wall Street, Ying wasn’t happy and, after some inner soul searching and helped by an executive coach, she decided to leave a lucrative job on Wall Street to start two different companies.  While the decision didn’t come easy, Ying is now living her best life.  In Ying’s own words: “I am grateful to myself that I do not have to settle and live life on other people's terms but in my own truth.  It's great to wake up every day with a sense of purpose, work with people I love and admire, and create the reality I want for my own life. LIYT stands for Live in your truth and Lead in your truth.  LIYT is a digital executive coaching platform to provide the world's finest ontological coaching for anyone who wants a fulfilled life and wants to be a leader in this world. What Ying’s clients have in common are an extraordinary mindset and an open heart. They are leaders who want not only their own success but to make the world a better place.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Ying Cao.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Ying Hosler, who was most recently Director of Investments at Penn State University’s investment office.  Over a 13+ year career, Ying has been a major driving force behind Penn State’s success helping to grow total assets from $1B to over $6.5B.   Ying was the 3rd investment professional hired at Penn State and oversaw all investment activities for the endowment’s Private Equity and Venture Capital over the past six years.Previously, Ying was responsible for leading the endowment’s Global Public Equity portfolio.   Ying has been instrumental in setting up a wide range of in-house sourcing, due diligence and reporting capabilities, adding emerging managers and co-investments to Penn State’s private program. She was recently nominated by Kayo conference series as Top 22 Endowment’s today’s leaders in the NorthEast, and was cover featured as “the Rising Star of Top 30 Endowment” by Trusted Insight in 2017. Ying received her B.S. in E.E. and M.A in Economics from top universities in China and holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Ying Hosler.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Hailey Ji, Founder of HULA, a community-driven friend discovery platform that connects like-minded people and propels meaningful relationships through shared offline experiences.  Another way to think about HULA is a Bumble or Tinder app to find friends to attend cool events together, whether it be a Coldplay concert or an anime themed launch party.   I met Hailey at the Asian Hustle Network Conference in Las Vegas and I found her to be full of energy and optimism, two attributes that are definitely necessary for a start-up entrepreneur.  Hailey is a USC graduate and, after spending 4 years in marketing and digital media working with iconic brands like HBO Max and Fox Broadcasting, decided to quit her job and go all-in on launching HULA.   Hailey’s inspiration for starting HULA was based on her own personal experience.  In college, she was a big fan of Adele, yet none of her friends in her immediate circle shared her same passion for attending an Adele concert.  She needed an app like HULA.   As an Expat living in the U.S., Hailey deeply understands the current generations' loneliness and struggles of locating communities and making meaningful relationships, especially in metropolitan cities like New York City.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Hailey Ji.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Helen Hwang, Senior Executive Managing Director at Meridian Investment Sales.  Helen is Head of the Institutional Investment Sales Group and is known as the most trusted commercial real estate advisor in NYC. Over a 23+ year career in commercial real estate in NYC, Helen has executed over 100 institutional sales and recapitalization transactions exceeding $30 billion in value. Prior to joining Meridian, in 2015, Helen spent 16 years at Cushman & Wakefield as an Executive Vice President, as the head of NYC Investment Sales. I truly enjoyed interviewing Helen for this podcast as she is a role model and inspiration for the AAAIM community.  Want to hear what it takes to be at the top of your profession, well, you are in for a treat. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Helen Hwang.

Podcast Specific Introduction (unique for each podcast): Our guest for today’s podcast is Ed Cong, Principal at Marathon Asset Management, which was founded by Bruce Richards and Louis Hanover in 1998 and currently manages over $23bn as of this recording.  Marathon is among the few storied asset management firms that has built an amazing brand over the past 20+ years.   Ed joined the firm in 2006 and has risen to become a member of the investment committee.  Not only has Ed survived over 16 years at a top hedge fund, but he has thrived, helping the firm navigate the global financial crisis in 2008 and being a critical member of the team that helped manage the US Treasury Public-Private Investment Program.  Structured credit has transformed significantly over the past decade and it takes a different type of intellect to pivot and evolve with the market’s demands – that’s Ed, he has been at the center of it all!   So what does it take to succeed as a hedge fund portfolio manager.  Ed shares his path and some sound advice along the way.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Ed Cong.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Sadek Wahba, Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital.  He is an American economist and investor who focuses on infrastructure investments. Sadek began his career as an economist for the World Bank, where he worked on the social dimensions of structural adjustment. He subsequently joined Lehman Brothers and then Morgan Stanley, where he worked on structured financing. While with Morgan Stanley, Sadek launched Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and was Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley Infrastructure.  In 2012, Sadek made the entrepreneurial leap and formed I Squared Capital, a U.S.-based private equity group that invests in infrastructure projects in the U.S. and in developing economies, particularly China and India.   As of this recording, I Squared Capital manages over $30 billion in assets. The firm’s assets are focused in the energy, utilities, transport, digital infrastructure and social sectors in the U.S., Europe and in select high-growth economies including China, India and Latin America. I Squared Capital's portfolio companies employ over 12,000 professionals. You often hear the saying that nice guys finish last.  This is certainly not the case for Sadek.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Dr. Sadek Wahba.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Cindy Chen Delano, Co-Founder and Partner of Invictus Global Management, an emerging and diverse manager focused on opportunistic large-scale special situations across credit, bankruptcy claims and litigation finance.  Along with her Co-Founder and former Whitebox Advisors colleague, Amit Patel, Cindy successfully launched Invictus Global Management in 2019 and the firm now manages $200 million in assets in private equity-like vehicles.   Cindy has been an underdog all her life and her story really hits home for all of us chasing the American dream.  From her early days as an immigrant settling in New York City Chinatown to becoming a bankruptcy specialist lawyer, Cindy has overcome challenge after challenge and risen above time after time.  Grit, hustle, perservance – these are all words that define Cindy, one of the few Asian American woman to have successfully launched her own firm.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Cindy Chen Delano.

Our guest for today’s podcast is James Liang, Founder of Skyline Ventures, a Shanghai-based venture capital firm that invests in outbound opportunities from China to the rest of the world.   James has an impressive background given his 10 year experience in venture capital, including almost 4 years at Sequoia Capital China in his formative years.  As many of you know, I am a big champion of the underdog and James’ story resonates with all of us that didn’t have all the advantages growing up.  Like many families growing up in the 1980’s in rural China, James’ family was poor.  But thorough grit, determination, hard work, education, and some luck, he managed to make it and has now launched an independent venture capital firm.   James shares his perspective on why China will continue to have a competitive advantage as the global manufacturing powerhouse for the world.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with James Liang.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Seamon Chan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Palm Drive Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in early-growth companies with strong ideas and teams both in Silicon Valley and emerging tech centers around the world.  Along with his Co-Founder and Stanford classmate, Hendrick Lee, Seamon launched Palm Drive Capital in 2014 while still in their 20’s after being inspired by Warren Buffett who said that “his only regret was not starting Berkshire Hathway earlier in this career.”   Seamon takes us through his upbringing and early influences and shares his story about how he broke into the venture capital industry, culminating in launching Palm Drive Capital.  Since starting their firm, Palm Drive has successfully raised Funds I, II, and III and have had a number of early exits which he talks about in the podcast.

Our guest for today’s podcast is Gayatri Sarkar, Founder and General Partner of Advaita Capital, a venture capital firm she started in 2021.  Advaita’s mission is to put more women and minority entrepreneurs on a path to IPO leveraging their expertise in DEI and ESG in making mainstream tech investments.   Many of you may know Gayatri from her She-VC videos on youtube, a podcast she launched to quite simply get more women funded.  Through story telling and conversations, She-VC has featured women GPs, women LPs, and managers all around the world.   Gayatri is as unique as they come, wonderfully optimistic, and possesses the grit to become successful.   Without further ado, here is our conversation with Gayatri Sarkar.

Our guest for today’s podcast is David Chiang, Chief Investment Officer of Pritzker Family Foundations where he leads Ganesh Investments, the company that provides investment advisory services to the Funds and Partnerships group of PSP Partners and its affiliates. Ganesh Investments also provides investment advisory services to multiple Pritzker families and their foundations. Prior to joining Ganesh Investments in 2021, David was the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Idyllic Partners, an outsourced CIO firm. Previously, David served as Head of External Funds at Soros Fund Management, Managing Director at Wilshire Private Markets and has also worked for GIC.   David earned dual BA degrees in Business Economics and Psychology from Brown University and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School Management. He currently serves on the Board of The Opportunity Network, a non-profit focused on helping underrepresented students gain access to high quality education and career opportunities. Without further ado, here is our conversation with David Chiang.