Sally Shi (MBA’96) Named an Outstanding Asian American Woman by China Institute for Her Commitment to Social Responsibility in the Financial Sector

Throughout her career, Sally Shi (MBA’96) has combined her knowledge of the financial sector, a passion for social responsibility, and a connection to her Georgetown values to make a difference in her communities.

Situated in San Francisco, California, Shi was recently honored by the China Institute as one of 12 Outstanding Asian American Women for her impact on the Bay Area Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community – an award honoring 12 outstanding Chinese-American women who dared to create positive change for the current and future AAPI residents in the United States. The mission of the China Institute is to promote and increase the awareness of Chinese-American culture.

“It’s a very high honor, and I’m very humbled to stand among those 12 women, many of whom I am lucky enough to call friends, such as actress Joan Chen and ballerina Yuanyuan Tan,” Shi said. “It’s very important to me to make a meaningful contribution to society, and it’s important to think about what the future is for our kids and for the next generation.”

Shi has been with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. since 2006 as managing director of investments. She only manages her family funds, ScalableVision Capital, with Oppenheimer, which gives her the opportunity to engage and support a wide variety of social causes including her efforts in the AAPI community, Asian American visual art, and women’s STEM leadership.

Shi founded ScalableVision Capital in partnership with her husband, and she currently serves as chief investment officer. Scalable Vision Capital engages in a broad range of investment activities across the world within private and public markets.

“We’ve set up our own family foundation so we can engage in a wide range of social causes. As a family, we’ve identified three causes close to our heart that we’ve committed to supporting,” Shi said.

In addition to her responsibilities as managing director, Shi engages with meaningful projects such as The Asian American Foundation. Shi and her family are a national alliance partner and helped launch the foundation in 2021, which was created to help advance belonging and prosperity in the AAPI community.

Shi was born and raised in China and came to the United States after enrolling in the Georgetown MBA program. Growing up in China, the Georgetown brand and global reputation spurred Shi’s interest in pursuing a degree on the Hilltop.

“Georgetown holds a very special place in my heart,” Shi said. “I’m really grateful for what has happened to me and what Georgetown has given me.”

After earning her MBA, Shi spent time in Boston, Massachusetts, and Beijing, China, working in marketing before settling down in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Shi began her career in private banking with Morgan Stanely based on a recommendation from an old friend.

“My old roommate in Boston actually told me I should try private banking, but I didn’t really know what private banking was at the time,” Shi said. “In 2002, I started working at Morgan Stanley’s Silicon Valley office, and that really launched my career in private banking.”

In just over three and half years, Shi was named vice president at Morgan Stanley – a record-setting pace for their California offices. After quickly finding success with Morgan Stanley, Shi was soon approached by Oppenheimer & Co.

“The people at Oppenheimer very much value the diversity of life and the freedom of making your own decisions,” Shi said. “It is a more relaxed environment and they’re very encouraging of doing your own thing. It’s a great place to be.”

Shi has been back to the Hilltop numerous times to serve as a judge for the annual Executive Challenge with MBA students. Always impressed by the intelligence and drive of Georgetown students, Shi shares one piece of advice for young professionals carving their own path: “Find an identity for yourself. Take a hard look at yourself to find what the most important thing is to you and what you have passions for as you look to carve your own path.”