Perhaps the best way to describe myself is someone with a very curious mind who thrives on diversity and variety, a global citizen.
I’ve had several lives beginning with my extensive career in international investment banking and management. I suppose my success enabled me to explore my second life as an art historian.
I am currently at the beginning of my third life utilizing all of my previous education, experience and networks to provide asset management and advisory services for impact investing with the intent on generating financial returns together with positive social or environmental impact. I founded Perfect World Capital Group with this objective. A perfect world should be a sustainable world where we are not living on borrowed time or borrowed resources from our future.
I’m thrilled to also be teaching university students at Pepperdine not only on the subject of economics, but also how the tools of economics can be used to analyze questions arising in connection with culture and arts.
My principal educational platform is Lasso Education, which was founded on the principle of creating a bridge for young Americans from university, to a successful career and satisfying future. Essentially, to align a student’s education, interests and passions, with not just gainful, but meaningful employment.
Having lived in London for many years, I’ve travelled extensively to most countries in Europe for both business and pleasure. I studied art history and the Italian language in Florence Italy, which I truly believe to be my spiritual home. Nearly all roads in my creative life lead back to Florence. One important factor to feeling at home in other cultures and spaces is the similarity in visible light to a pleasurable time in your life, often childhood.
The Asian cultures also resonate with me. I’ve travelled extensively throughout Asia over the years also for business and pleasure. I’m blessed to have been able to travel to China during the days of Deng Xiaoping. It enabled me to observe the beginning of the socialist market economy and the fantastic transformation in the standards of living in China.
I am passionate about art of most mediums, as expressions of history, culture and contemporary collective thought. Good art in any medium is transcendental and inspirational. Beautiful places and spaces also inspire creativity and give me much peace.
Giving back and imparting happiness whether to people or animals gives me such satisfaction and pleasure that I will be completely fulfilled if my work in life number three is entirely philanthropic. Needless to say, I am a mother of beautiful twins, spirited dogs and talented horses.
While I am not a terribly competitive person, I strive for perfection in all aspects of my life. Indeed rather than participating in competitive sports for excitement, I gain much more happiness from jumping horses and skiing to a very high standard as well as social tennis doubles. Polo is likely to be my next sportive challenge.
All of my relationships whether cultural, professional, educational or community are currently within one to two degrees of separation, making life very interesting and exhilarating.
With warm regards,
Cynthia
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ABOUT THE PHOTO: Raphael’s “School of Athens”
“The most famous philosophers of ancient times move within an imposing Renaissance architecture which is inspired by Bramante’s project for the renewal of the early Christian basilica of St Peter. Some of these are easily recognizable. In the centre Plato points upwards with a finger and holds his book Timeus in his hand, flanked by Aristotle with Ethics; Pythagoras is shown in the foreground intent on explaining the diatesseron. Diogenes is lying on the stairs with a dish, while the pessimist philosopher, Heracleitus, a portrait of Michelangelo, is leaning against a block of marble, writing on a sheet of paper. Michelangelo was in those years executing the paintings in the nearby Sistine Chapel. On the right we see Euclid, who is teaching geometry to his pupils, Zoroaster holding the heavenly sphere and Ptolemy holding the earthly sphere. The personage on the extreme right with the black beret is a self-portrait of Raphael.” ~ Vatican Museums