Winston Ma MCJ '98 receives University's Distinguished Alumnus Award

Earlier today, the NYU Alumni Association honored Winston Ma MCJ ’98 with a Distinguished Alumnus Award at its annual luncheon. The award signals “extraordinary achievement” and praises Ma for “embodying the spirit of distinction that brings pride to the University.”

Winston Ma MCJ '98

“He is, by anyone’s estimation, one of the leading lights of his generation. Truly—in the world,” said Dean Trevor Morrison, who praised Ma for his innovative thinking and ability to transcend both professional and national boundaries.

Ma is the managing director of China Investment Corporation (CIC), one of China’s sovereign wealth funds and the fourth largest in the world, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. The 2012 NYU Law Magazine’s profile of Ma put it succinctly: “Ma is China’s financial front man in North America.”

Ma was recently promoted to the head of CIC’s North American office. Based in Toronto, CIC may soon be moving to New York City, according to the Wall Street Journal, bringing Ma back to the city where he was a Hauser Global Scholar.

Ma described his experience at NYU Law as formative, recalling in particular the broad range of perspectives and viewpoints he encountered as part of the Hauser Global Law School. “That, to me, was the base for my future career to be a global professional.”

Before working with CIC, Ma worked at Barclays Capital (NY) and JP Morgan. In November 2013, he was named one of Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders. He is also a member of the Global Agenda Council on Long Term Investing at the World Economic Forum and the New York University President’s Global Council. In 2006, he published Investing in China: New Opportunities in a Transforming Stock Market.

Watch a two-minute video about Ma’s extraordinary career below:

Posted April 24, 2014