AAAIM High ELI

Hosted by The Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM)

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Apr 2026

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About the show

AAAIM's podcast series, "AAAIM High ELI" is focused on highlighting leaders whose voice and story can inspire the next generation of Asians in the investment management industry. Podcast guests will include senior asset allocators, industry leaders, established and emerging managers, and content experts passionate about raising the representation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the senior ranks across the industry. Over time, we hope our podcasts will serve as a library of valuable content for the AAAIM community as well as the extended investment community.

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60 recent

April 15, 2026Episode 10550 min

Gaurav Aggarwal, Managing Partner, Vivo Capital "Breaking Into—and Leading—Life Sciences Investing"

Our guest for today's podcast is Dr. Gaurav Aggarwal. Dr. Aggarwal is a Managing Partner at Vivo Capital, a global healthcare specialist with a multi-strategy investment platform covering venture capital, private equity, and public equity strategies. The firm seeks to support the expansion of healthcare access via investments in the industry, and to catalyze innovation and growth via its "Ecosystem Strategy." Dr. Aggarwal and has invested in the life sciences sector for over 25 years including almost 10 years at Vivo Capital at the time of this recording. Prior to Vivo, Dr. Aggarwal was Chief Business Officer of Ocera Therapeutics, a publicly traded clinical-stage company, prior to which he served as a General Partner at Panorama Capital. He began his career in private equity at JPMorgan Partners. Dr. Aggarwal currently serves on the board of Unicycive Therapeutics and on the boards of several private companies across the medical device, pharmaceutical services and biopharmaceutical sectors. Dr. Aggarwal received his M.D. from Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons and his B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Gaurav Aggarwal.

April 8, 2026Episode 1041 hr 3 min

Rodney June, CIO, LACERS, "The Long and Winding Road to Success"

Hi, this is Angie Chatterjee, Principal at Innocap, and joining us today is Rodney June, CIO of LA City Employees' Retirement System. Rod has been with the $27 billion LACERS public pension plan since 1998 and has served as its CIO since 2012. Prior to being named CIO at LACERS, he served as CIO for the State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System from 2008 to 2012. Prior to joining LACERS, Rod worked in banking, management consulting, and affordable housing. He has worked with several Southern California non-profit educational organizations that provide educational programs and scholarships to middle school, high school and college students in Southern California including NASP SoCal, The John and Helen Apostle Foundation, Neighborhood Youth Association, and The Jonathan Tarr Foundation. He currently serves on the board of the Robert Toigo Foundation. Rod holds a B.S. in Finance from CSU, Long Beach, where he holds membership in Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society, and an M.B.A. from the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business at Auburn University.

January 14, 2026Episode 10355 min

Nitish Agarwal, CEO and CIO, Orion Capital Asia, "Harnessing Double Digit Returns from Lower Risk Private Credit in Asia"

Our guest for today's podcast is Nitish Agarwal, who is the CEO & CIO at Orion Capital Asia, a Singapore based private credit investment manager. Nitish has over 30 years of experience in private debt markets across Asia. Nitish started Orion in 2013 to focus on performing credit to middle market companies in Asia Pacific – the platform has completed more than US$2.3 billion of private loans. Prior to Orion, he was Managing Director at Barclays Capital in Singapore. He started his career with Bank of America in Mumbai and later relocated to Hong Kong. Joining me as co-host on the podcast is Jacqueline Chew, Managing Director focused on Client Solutions for Orion Capital Asia.

November 19, 2025Episode 10250 min

Leena Bhutta, CIO, Doris Duke Foundation, "Grit, Gratitude & A Little Bit of Luck: Forging my Own Purposeful Path in Finance"

Joining us today is Leena Bhutta, the Chief Investment Officer of the Doris Duke Foundation. Leena leads an internal investment team responsible for managing the foundation's endowment which fully supports the foundation's operating budget – enabling a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. Leena began her career in technology investment banking at Goldman Sachs before transitioning to global equity research at Joho Capital, a multi-billion-dollar, global hedge fund. Following several years as a direct investor, she shifted her focus to mission-driven capital, establishing the investment program for the Hollyhock Foundation—a private foundation created by the founders of Joho Capital. Leena holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Leena also serves on the Board of Directors of TIFF Investment Management and is a member of the Investment Committee for the Robertson Foundation. Leena's journey is truly inspiring, and I am excited to share our conversation with you.

November 5, 2025Episode 10145 min

Cristina Chen-Oster, Founder & CEO, M2M Capital "Using AI to bring Transparency to Private Markets"

Our guest for today's podcast is Cristina Chen-Oster who is the Founder & CEO of M2M Capital, which provides real-time market-informed valuations and liquidity solutions for private companies. Previously, Cristina served as the Head of Americas Distribution for S64, a global Alternatives Solutions business committed to optimizing private market access. Cristina spent the bulk of her career on Wall Street including tenures at Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Natixis in institutional solutions and equity structured products. Cristina is a CFA charter holder and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from MIT. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Cristina Chen-Oster.

August 13, 2025Episode 10056 min

Brenda Chia, Chief of Capital Development, Paladin Capital Group and Johnny Wu, CEO, WallStreetX ETFs "Jamming about all things AAAIM"

To celebrate our 100th podcast, I invited Brenda Chia, Chief of Capital Development of Paladin Capital Group and one of the original six founding Board Members of AAAIM to talk about all things AAAIM – past, present, future – and what we hope for the community going forward.

June 11, 2025Episode 991 hr 5 min

Wendy Li, Chief Investment Officer, Ivy Invest "Bringing Endowment Style Investing to Everyone"

Our guest for today's podcast is Wendy Li, Chief Investment Officer of Ivy Invest. Before founding Ivy Invest, Wendy spent her career as an institutional investor managing billions of dollars for some of New York's largest endowments and foundations. Most recently, Wendy was Managing Director of Investments at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF). At MCHF, she was responsible for developing the foundation's investment strategy, sourcing and executing investments across asset classes, and exercising day-to-day management over MCHF's $4B portfolio. Prior to MCHF, Wendy held similar responsibilities at UJA-Federation of New York. She began her career in the Investment Office of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wendy is a graduate of Columbia University and a CFA charterholder. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Wendy Li.

May 28, 2025Episode 9849 min

Richard Chau, CIO, Tulane University Endowment, "Putting in the Work: My Journey to Tulane's CIO Seat"

Our guest for today's podcast is Richard Chau, Chief Investment Officer of the Tulane University Endowment. Richard joined Tulane in 2013 and was promoted to CIO in 2021. Prior to Tulane, Richard helped manage a multi-billion dollar global private equity portfolio in Bessemer Trust's Private Equity Funds Group. Before Bessemer, Richard worked in the investment office at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. His previous experience also includes investment banking at Houlihan Lokey and investment consulting at Cambridge Associates. Richard has a BA in Economics and Chinese from Williams College and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Richard Chau.

May 14, 2025Episode 9751 min

Tina Suo, Head of Alternative Credit, Office of the New York City Comptroller

Our guest for today's podcast is Tina Suo, Head of Alternative Credit for the Office of NYC Comptroller. Tina joined the Office of the NYC Comptroller as a Senior Investment Officer in the Alternative Credit Group in August 2019. In this role, she assisted in making investment recommendations and advising on the alternative credit portfolio consisting of public and private non-traditional credit-oriented investments that include below-investment-grade debt. In May 2022, she was promoted to Head of Alternative Credit to oversee the alternative credit portfolio for the five New York City retirement systems. Prior to the Office of the NYC Comptroller, Tina held roles in manager selection, risk management, trading, and portfolio management at leading sell-side and buy-side firms including PIMCO, Goldman Sachs, and New York Life Investments. Tina received her M.B.A. degree from London Business School and B.S. degree in Information and Decision Sciences from University of Science and Technology of China. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Tina Suo.

April 30, 2025Episode 9650 min

Sandor Hau, Managing Director and President, Charlesbank Credit "What it takes to be a builder of businesses, communities, and organizations"

Our guest for today's podcast is Sandor Hau, Managing Director and President of Charlesbank Credit. Sandor oversees the firm's opportunistic Credit team and investing strategy. Sandor joined Charlesbank in 2016 from Nomura Securities, where he was a Managing Director and Head of Corporate Credit and Special Situations. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and Head of Credit Investing and Private Equity within the principal strategies group. Sandor was born and grew up in rural Lancaster, PA, and is a big Philadelphia sports fan. He currently lives in Rye, NY, and is actively involved with community and sports activities with his four kids. He likes running, basketball and racquet sports. He is actively involved with the Korean American community as co–chairman of The Korea Finance Society. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Without further ado, here is our conversation with Sandor Hau.