Chenkay Li W’06, WG’12

Email: Feel free to contact Chenkay at chenkay.li@gmail.com

What did you study at Penn and when did you graduate? 

I received my undergraduate degree from Wharton in 2006, with concentrations in Finance and Legal Studies. I returned to Wharton to receive my MBA and graduated in 2012.  

What were you involved with as an undergraduate?

My main involvement on campus was Wharton Women, which was the largest undergraduate organization at the time. I was involved in the corporate relations team and worked to foster relationships between and connect companies with students and companies. 

What was your favorite part of Penn/Wharton?

Looking back, I can appreciate how talented my classmates were. In the midst of it all, I didn’t always realize how extraordinary they were and how much I was learning from them. Seeing classmates on the news and take on leadership roles and watching their careers evolve, I realize now how special the group truly was. 

What internships/jobs did you hold during your time at Penn?

I had always gravitated towards finance intellectually, so my internships reflected my interest. My sophomore year, I applied for and got accepted to a banking internship at J.P. Morgan within the Financial Services industry. I went back to J.P. Morgan the summer after my junior year, this time within the Mergers & Acquisitions group.

Can you walk me through your career path post-grad?

I returned to J.P. Morgan’s NY office for a full-time position with the Mergers & Acquisitions group after I graduated. 2005-2007 were boom years for M&A, so I worked on many active deals and very few pitches. It was a pretty standard 2-3 year analyst program. 

Afterward, I transitioned to a middle-size, middle-market private equity firm based in D.C. One of the two co-founders of the firm was actually a Wharton alum, who had worked at Carlyle for 15 years before starting her own firm. Having known her from school, I reconnected with her when I was looking for a job after J.P. Morgan and worked as an associate at the firm until I went back to business school. 

After receiving my MBA from Wharton, I have now been working in my current role in private equity for 7 years. 

What drew you to/has kept you in finance?

Intellectually, I was always drawn to finance. My high school offered really solid economics courses that I took my junior and senior years. That was my introduction to finance, and I liked it! At the time, I lived in south Jersey, and Wharton was relatively close by. I figured I would try out a business degree, with the plan of pivoting to Penn for a more liberal arts education if I didn’t enjoy it. However, I found finance to be very intuitive and easy for me. I had always enjoyed math and was successful with the coursework. 

As for what’s kept me in finance, although the intellectual piece still holds true, there are other factors at play. A critical piece initially was the financial reward, but what’s kept me and other long-term players in the field, have been the people. I’m someone who likes to work with people, and my colleagues are the best in class in what they do. I do want to mention that the two aren’t exclusionary, but rather complementary. Hardworking, capable people tend to be financially successful, and they continue to stay in their roles -- the two feed off each other. 

What has been the proudest accomplishment of your career?

After my first year as an analyst at J.P. Morgan, I gave my first bonus check to my parents. They had supported me through college, so it was the least I could do. Even to this day, that is the moment when I felt the best about myself. 

What has been the biggest challenge of your career?

Learning communication and people skills was pretty difficult. Finance is highly clinical and mathematical, but as you get more senior, you quickly realize that technical skills, like being able to crank out Excel sheets and perform quick mental math, are a commodity. The true value add becomes your soft skills --  being able to talk people into your point of view and persuade them into doing or not doing something. That is the differentiator at my level and above. However, there’s no magic textbook that can teach you human relations, and it’s a skill that has to be learned through experience and making mistakes.

Has being a woman affected your career trajectory?

Working in finance, I have actually felt that it is very much a meritocracy compared to corporate and other industries. While no industry/organization is a complete meritocracy, finance affords people of different backgrounds the opportunity to stand out and earn the respect they deserve by doing well. I encourage young women not to shy away from certain industries and view them in a negative light out of fear that they will be unfair. 

How do you balance your personal life and professional development? 

For me, it’s about orienting your mindset differently. I don’t have kids, and although this certainly impacts how I balance my professional and personal life, I still do have a life outside of my career! I would say that if you want to do well as a young person, especially in banking and finance, don’t view your career as a 9-5 job. Speaking from experience, finance is a transaction-oriented business that is at the mercy of the timelines of deals and transactions you work on -- that is the same for an analyst and a managing director. The hours are more unpredictable than long, so it’s important to adjust your mindset accordingly. 

What is one problem, issue, or idea that you think more people should know about?

I think we can continue to do better on diversity, not just gender and race but backgrounds, especially in PE. You and I could look the same but have completely different views on life. I believe it’s important for companies to make tangible goals towards diversity, like allocating a certain proportion of women on the board level. 

What advice do you have for our members?

Be diverse and open-minded in your involvements and engage the wider Penn community! For Wharton students, be open to education, experiences, and people outside of Wharton in the broader Penn community. I personally felt cocooned in the professional clubs and job-oriented environment of the Wharton microcosm. Social aspect of interaction is important, and my social and professional networks might’ve developed faster, had I gotten to know a broader group of people; instead of having to actively and mindfully learn communication and soft skills as I got more senior, they might have come more easily to me.