Zhe Zhang

During my entire career, both in the public and in the private sector, I have always been committed to bridging China and the rest of the world, particularly Europe. As someone who spent the first 18 years of his life never going beyond the borders of Anhui, a province in central China, I didn’t expect back then that one day I would associate my career with the two ends of the Euroasian continent. I had a dream to see the world and I followed it with all my might.

There have been two turning points in my career since then; in 2011 I left the Chinese Ministry of Commerce where I had served for over a dozen years and I went on to pursue a completely different life in the IBD at Goldman Sachs, a company I still hold in highest esteem for the way it is organized and managed. Then in 2013 I founded my own asset management firm SIFT Capital, firstly in Hong Kong and then expanded it to Beijing.

The very unusual combination of these three phases taught me how cheerful it is to work alongside the smartest minds and most dedicated people in the world, how crucial it is to constantly create value for investors and clients and for our own track record, and how to embrace regulators as friends.  That is the reason why I am a firm believer in a corporate culture of complete trust and transparency, and why I have been trained and licensed by the regulatory bodies of mainland China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

What fascinates me most about SILK Ventures is that it has constructed a very exciting mechanism of backing entrepreneurs in their journey to expand to China and unlocking their potential and growth in this market. This fits both my vision and my career background thus I couldn’t miss the opportunity of getting involved.

Along the long road from Anhui to Peking University, to Oxford University, and then to the three organisations I worked for successively, I have been fortunate, and grateful, for the support that allowed me to go through the most difficult times, and the valuable and timely advice I received from my mentors.  I believe now it’s my turn to give back and support those in need of professional guidance and funding.

At SILK Ventures, I have the privilege of partnering with a group of individuals who share my outlook on life and relationships. I also believe that if we look outward, such homogeneity of people's beliefs and values is bringing us closer and builds stronger relationships that withstand the test of time and turbulences.  

To all our friends and partners, I wish that SILK Ventures is “A heart well worth winning, and well won. A heart that, once won, goes through fire and water for the winner, and never changes, and is never daunted.” (Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend)