Meet Pasy Wang, Chief Investment Officer at Cedars-Sinai

Pasy Wang is the Chief Investment Officer of Cedars-Sinai, where she leads one of the highest-performing endowment teams in the country. Born and raised in Culver City, she began her journey studying electrical engineering at UCLA before discovering a love for travel and problem-solving that carried her into the consulting world during the first tech boom. Her early career took her from aerospace internships to Deloitte, then to Munich, Portland, and New York, where Columbia Business School sparked her passion for finance. That passion eventually brought her home to Los Angeles, first to PAAMCO and later to Caltech, where she spent more than a decade helping build the modern version of the university’s investment office.

Three years ago, a rare opportunity to create an entirely new investment office in Los Angeles drew her to Cedars-Sinai. Today she oversees a concentrated, high-conviction portfolio across public and private markets, guided by a philosophy centered on alignment, long-term thinking, and meaningful partnerships. Her path reflects curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to take risks early in her career. Whether connecting with managers across asset classes or designing an investment platform from the ground up, she brings a thoughtful, steady leadership approach to one of the most influential roles in institutional investing.

Sam: Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

Pasy: I was born and raised in Los Angeles—specifically in Culver City. Today it’s hip and cool, but it definitely wasn’t when I was growing up.

Sam: Where did you go to college, and what did your early career path look like?

Pasy: I applied to all the UC schools and got into both UCLA and Berkeley. My best friend was going to Berkeley, so I chose UCLA so we could each have our own experience. I didn’t know what to major in, and a friend had checked electrical engineering on her application, so I copied her. I soon realized it’s an extremely difficult major, but I stuck with it.

I did a couple of engineering internships, mostly in aerospace since LA has a big aerospace presence. I was working full-time at Raytheon while finishing school. That experience made me realize two things: I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, and I really wanted to travel. Consulting seemed like the perfect way to have someone else pay for my flights.

So in 1999, I joined Deloitte Consulting during the first tech boom.  I technically worked for the San Francisco office but lived in LA, so I traveled Monday–Thursday constantly. I spent time in Portland and then nearly a year in Munich. This was pre-smartphone, so I felt disconnected from home, but it was an amazing cultural experience. The team had one person from every European country. I loved Germany and got immersed in the culture. I even learned enough German to order food.

Sam: How did you transition out of consulting into the work you do today as Chief Investment Officer of Cedars-Sinai?

Pasy: In consulting, we regularly worked until 1 or 2 a.m., then came back early the next morning. I needed something to break that cycle, so I applied to business school. I’d always wanted to live in New York, so Columbia Business School felt like the right move. I was there from 2003 to 2005.

During business school, I interned on Wall Street in sales and trading. It was hazy and rowdy back then, but I loved it and fell in love with finance. After graduating, I still loved finance but also loved LA weather. I wasn’t built for New York winters or was prepared to give up flip-flops.  So I moved back to LA and connected with a couple of Columbia alums who worked at a fund of hedge funds called Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO). I barely knew what that was, but I joined when the firm managed about $1B; when I left, it was $11B. That launched my finance career and brought me home.

After five years, I realized I wanted to work with one client instead of many institutional clients. That led me to Caltech. The investment office was going through a transition, and the new CIO recruited me. Together we built the “2.0 version” of the office. I stayed for 12 years, became Deputy CIO, and led the investment team.

Then a recruiter reached out about a brand-new investment office being created in LA. That almost never happens in our world. Unlike startups, institutional investment offices don’t pop up every day. The chance to build something from scratch was irresistible. That’s how I ended up at Cedars-Sinai. Three years in, we’ve built everything—back office, front office, systems, governance, team. Our performance is in the top fourth percentile of endowments and foundations. It’s been hard work but incredibly fulfilling.

Sam: At Cedars-Sinai, could you share more about what you invest in?

Pasy: We’re a fully diversified institutional investor. On the public side, we invest in equities and fixed income. On the private side, we do buyouts, growth, venture, real estate, and some private credit. We aim for a concentrated but diversified portfolio—around 45 to 50 line items, while many peers might have 100.

On the venture side, about 98% of our work is fund investing. We back managers across stages but skew a bit later-stage for now, since the portfolio is young and needs to generate distributions to eventually self-fund.

Sam: What do you look for in a fund manager?

 Pasy: Ultimately, we want great partners—alignment, a clear strategy, and a sustainable edge. Sometimes that edge is macro-driven; sometimes it’s fundamental. And we want partners who help us leverage our biggest advantage: long-term capital. We invest for perpetuity, so we can trade liquidity for long-term alpha.

Sam: What were you like as a kid?

 Pasy: I always thought I’d be an architect. My dad was an engineer—there’s a stat that 85% of women in engineering had fathers who were engineers so maybe that influenced me. I played basketball: first in the local Japanese league (even though I’m Chinese), then in high school, and later as an adult until getting crushed by 21-year-olds stopped being fun.

Sam: How would your family or friends have described you?

 Pasy: Happy-go-lucky. I smiled a lot. Still do. I respected my elders, unlike my brother. I was studious but had a fun side too. Culver City was like a mini-UN—every culture and ethnicity was represented. A small town inside LA.

Sam: Were your parents born here?

Pasy: No. My mom was born in China but fled during the Communist takeover and moved to Taiwan as a child. My dad grew up in Indonesia but is ethnically Chinese. He also went to college in Taiwan. They met as young adults and immigrated to the U.S. about five years before I was born.

Sam: Were they tiger parents?

Pasy: They were what I’d call “tiger light”. Compared to other kids, yes. Compared to today’s definition of tiger parenting, not at all. They paid us for good grades and tied privileges to test scores. I call myself “Tiger light,” too. My kids attend a Mandarin immersion school. Ours is known as the “Tiger light school.” The truly Tiger school is across town.

Sam: What do you like to do for fun?

Pasy: Between my kids’ sports schedules, I try to take them skiing every year. I snowboard but am trying to switch back to skiing. I did go heli-skiing this year which was amazing. Outside of that, I’m mostly doing kid stuff like most parents.

Sam: What advice would you give your younger self? 

Pasy: Try a lot of different things. You don’t know what you’ll love until you see it. If you want to be a CIO, breadth matters, which involves exposure to multiple asset classes. And I wish I took more risks earlier. It gets harder with age, so take risks while you can.

Sam: As an Asian woman navigating finance, what challenges or advantages have shaped your journey?

Pasy: Everyone faces challenges. Being an Asian woman in traditional finance can be tough, but self-awareness is everything. Know your strengths, know how others perceive you, and work with it. Women can’t always lead exactly the way men do. Our approaches can be different, and that’s okay. The subtleties matter.

Sam: What’s your favorite part of your job?

Pasy: Working with incredibly smart people. My team and the managers we meet across asset classes. It’s the perfect job for someone endlessly curious. I love learning a little about everything and asking experts questions all day.

Sam: What’s the most Asian thing you do? 

Pasy: Honestly, there are so many. But lately, during holiday gatherings, I can’t stand seeing food go to waste. I’m always the one trying to get someone to take leftovers or wrapping it up myself. It is deeply, unmistakably Asian.

Sam: Where do you see yourself in a decade or two?

Pasy: Hopefully doing more of what I’m doing—helping nonprofits, doing meaningful work, staying in finance. Not exactly retired, but maybe somewhere warm. I’m not sure where, but hopefully living a good life and continuing work I enjoy.