Episode 130: Cynthia Tusan - On Taking a Stand and Being a Voice for Change

Cynthia Tusan is CEO and Chairman of Strategic Global Advisors, a fundamentally inspired and quantitatively driven investment manager focused on global equities, a role she has held for over 16 years.  She previously was a portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management and is based in the Newport Beach area.

Our conversation starts with her upbringing which was the ultimate marriage of science and art, and translate that into her current passion for investment, which is, of course, part art and science.  We speak about her experience of founding a firm as well as her philosophy for leading and motivating a team.

During our diversity discussion we discuss a recent example of "taking a stand" in which Cynthia publicly challenged an industry article that suggested that female fund managers had seen more negative impact from pandemic-related school closures than male fund managers.  See this link for more information on the outcome:

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1smmwcdnt0nkm/A-Note-to-Our-Readers

We move then to her passion for education, in particular after-school education programs, and the impact that they can have. Our conversation ends with the people who have inspired her - and there is quite a list!

Series 2 of the 2022 Fiftyfaces Podcast is brought to you with the kind support of the William Blair Active Share Podcast.