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.