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.
Anla’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.
Previous to the Serica Initiative, Ms. Cheng is also the Founder and former CEO/Chair of SupChina and The China Project.
Anla 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.
Anla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated magna cum laude from Pratt Institute.
