Join our upcoming Committee of 100’s Conversations—“Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes,” featuring Anla Cheng, Founder and Ceo of the Serica Initiative and Committee of 100 member.

Anla Cheng will share her personal journey from her upbringing through her pioneering career in investment banking and investing, as well as her decades of advocacy advancing Chinese and Asian American success.

Anla Cheng will talk about her upbringing and personal history, her pioneering career in investment banking and investing, and her decades of work promoting and enabling the success of Chinese and Asian Americans in this country. As both a Chinese American and a woman, Cheng broke significant barriers in finance during a time when Asian Americans faced major obstacles to advancement. Beyond her own remarkable achievements, she has dedicated herself to creating pathways for Asian Americans to succeed across numerous fields.

Peter Young, Chair of the Conversations Initiative and Committee of 100 New York Regional Chair and Board Member, will be the moderator.

Anla Cheng
Founder and CEO
Serica Initiative

Anla Cheng is Chair, Founder, and CEO of Serica Initiative, LLC, an Emmy award winning nonprofit organization dedicated to amplifying Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voices across culture, business, science, and public life. Cheng’s career spans senior leadership roles across global finance and investment management.

She previously served as Asia Institutional Division Head and Senior Vice President at Robert Fleming (acquired by JPMorgan), and held positions at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, where she worked as an Asian Equity Analyst and later as an Asian Portfolio Manager for both Institutional and Private Wealth clients. She subsequently founded and led Centenium Capital Partners, an Asia-focused hedge fund of funds.

She is currently Vice Chair of The Nature Conservancy (Asia Pacific) and Vice Chair of The China Institute. She is also a Trustee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a member of Committee of 100. Her previous board service includes Past Chair of Facing History & Ourselves – China Project, Past Global Council Member of The Brookings Institution, Member of Columbia University’s Global Council (China), and Trustee roles at MOCA, The New York Community Trust, Riverdale Country Day School, and The Browning School.

Cheng is also the Founder and former CEO/Chair of SupChina and The China Project. Cheng has received numerous honors, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (2023), the Blue Cloud Award from The China Institute (2021), Outstanding Leader Award from Ascend (2019), the Leadership and Service Award from the New York Chinese Cultural Center (2015), and the Legacy Award from MOCA (2009). She is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist, with appearances at The Economist (London), the Milken Institute (Singapore and Dubai), Evercore’s Annual Conference, Harvard University, Columbia University, NYU, Schwarzman Scholars, Model United Nations, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, and the University of Pennsylvania, among many others. Cheng holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated magna cum laude from Pratt Institute.

Peter Young
CEO and President of Young & Partners
Committee of 100 Member and Board Member
Chair of the Committee of 100 Conversations Program

Peter Young is CEO of Young & Partners, a boutique investment banking firm focused on the life science and chemical industries. He manages the firm and is actively involved in client transactions and financings. Under his leadership, Young & Partners has established and maintained its position as a highly regarded firm serving the corporate strategy, M&A, restructuring and financing needs of clients worldwide. He was previously head of industry groups at Salomon Brothers, Schroders and Lehman Brothers, a senior private equity executive with J.H. Whitney & Co. and a senior member of Bain & Co., the corporate strategy firm.

Young received a BA in Economics from Yale, an MS in Accounting from NYU, and MBA from Harvard Business School where he graduated with Distinction as a Baker Scholar. He is a CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He serves on a number of boards of directors, both corporate and non-profit and is a board member of Société de Chimie Industrielle, a leading life science and chemical industry non-profit organization and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Pharmaceutical Executive.