About Me
WELCOME!
“Capital can be a regenerative force.”
I’m EJ Elena Shin (CQF, SCR) — a portfolio manager, global impact investor, and systems architect shaping how institutional capital drives resilience and long-term value creation.
With more than twelve years across Wall Street and the City of London, I’ve led strategies at BlackRock and Aviva Investors, guiding multi-trillion-dollar portfolios toward energy-transition-aligned performance across public and private markets.
As one of the founding architects of ESG and sustainability strategy at BlackRock, I helped embed climate risk and opportunity into the DNA of modern asset allocation. I was fortunate to be honored with the International Icons of Change Award (2025) and educated and executive trained at Harvard, NYU Stern, LSE / University of Cape Town, and Oxford.
I. North Star: Capitalism as a Force for Good
My North Star is simple: capitalism can be a force for good.
That conviction has guided every step of my journey over the past two decades — from NGOs to government to global finance.
For me, risk-adjusted returns, commercial success, and impact are not trade-offs but mutually reinforcing levers of systemic transformation. When deployed with foresight and integrity, capital becomes an engine for regeneration — restoring resilience across markets, communities, and the planet.
II. Track Record: BlackRock, Aviva, and Beyond
I joined BlackRock in 2013 as part of the analyst class in New York — and was privileged to help build something that did not yet exist: a 'global ESG integration' framework for integrating climate risk and sustainability into institutional investment.
Over the decade between New York and London, I worked across multi-asset portfolio management, sustainable investing strategy, client engagement, and climate research — each grounded in rigorous, data-driven investment discipline.
As one of the founding architects of BlackRock’s ESG and sustainability strategy, I helped develop innovative and pioneering methodologies that evolved into the standard for climate-aware capital allocation across public and private markets.
Working in close partnership with the Head of EMEA, global CIOs, and leading sovereign wealth funds, insurers, pension funds, and endowments across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, etc., I contributed to aligning $2–3 trillion in assets with energy-transition objectives and long-duration performance goals.
As Head of Climate Solutions at Aviva Investors, I lead the scaling of net-zero and impact strategies across asset classes at the board and investment-committee level, including carbon removal funds and transition finance initiatives designed to translate ambition into measurable outcomes. More about my career: LinkedIn
Recognition moments are never just about the award — they’re about the journey. In this one-minute acceptance speech, I shared what drives my work: building bridges between finance, sustainability, and legacy.
III. Personal Story: A Global Lens Shaped by Diplomacy and Service
My worldview was shaped by generations devoted to public service dating back to 57 BC. Raised between South Korea, North America, and Europe, I grew up at the intersection of diplomacy, capital, and governance.
As the daughter of a South Korean diplomat and Vice Minister of Unification, I witnessed negotiations unfold behind closed doors under diplomatic protocol. My father’s work on the Sunshine Policy under President Kim Dae-jung—later recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize—taught me that meaningful progress is rarely loud; it’s built on vision, perseverance, and compassion. Among UN diplomats and policy makers, I learned early that real power is anchored in integrity, trust, and humility.
Living with German and Israeli host families during high school years in Canada, attending university and working on Wall Street for a decade in NYC until moving to London in 2018, and traveling through more than 60 countries—from Cuba to London family offices to the Vatican—showed me that diplomacy and finance rest on the same foundation: empathy, foresight, and the courage to think beyond the quarter.
These experiences shaped my conviction that sustainable progress requires more than capital and policy—it requires dialogue, the willingness to engage across cultural, ideological, and institutional lines to find shared ground. In an age where climate change, AI, and inequality transcend borders, communication itself becomes both bridge and mirror—revealing our common humanity while challenging us to evolve how we collaborate for a more resilient future.
This is the lens through which I approach institutional finance: globally informed, strategically grounded, and guided by a deep sense of stewardship.
IV. Collective Intelligence: What is Obsidian Odyssey?
'The School of Life' for Impact Investing. Obsidian Odyssey is a thought leadership platform for capital allocators, institutional investors, family office, and next-generation leaders reimagining finance in an era of climate change, AI disruption, and planetary transition. We explore the structural, ethical, and systemic implications of investing—from regenerative finance and nature-based solutions to conscious leadership and long-term resilience.
If you're asking how to align performance with purpose, you're in the right place. Obsidian Odyssey is an evolving community — a space for like-minded leaders and curious thinkers to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, and reimagine what finance can become in this age of transformation.
V. Long-Term Vision: A Glimpse Into the Future
My long-term vision is to establish a foundation dedicated to land conservation, community regeneration, and animal stewardship — a living blueprint for circular-economy legacy.
To me, capital is not just a financial tool but a catalyst shaping systems and futures. If you share this mission, let’s connect — the next era of finance will be shaped by those who dare to imagine regenerative systems together!
With deep gratitude and warm regards,
EJ Elena Shin
🔷 What Is This Platform?
Obsidian Odyssey is a strategic sanctuary and global platform—bridging finance, systems thinking, and consciousness to design a more just, sustainable future.
About Obsidian Odyssey
Obsidian Odyssey is my living notebook—a place where markets, meaning, and memory converge. It is both an intellectual exercise and a personal archive: a way to translate years of institutional investor experience into insights that are accessible, practical, and deeply human.
But more than that, it is a gathering space. I share my reflections, questions, and discoveries here—not as final answers, but as contributions to an ongoing conversation. My hope is that Obsidian Odyssey becomes a place where people also feel welcome to bring their perspectives, experiences, and ideas, so that together we can explore what it means to build wealth, leadership, and lives of meaning in our time.
Here, I am building five pillars of exploration:
1. Personal Finance & Market Insights
I have been paying attention to global capital markets since 2007, when my internships in Wall Street and Seoul first opened the door. But my earliest images go back even further—childhood memories of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis in South Korea: the fall of the won vs. the dollar, the gold collection campaign, and the shocking sight of once-mighty companies collapsing overnight, CEOs becoming homeless on the streets. Later came the dot-com bubble and the arrival of the internet era, which carried its own wave of exuberance and collapse. I didn't know much about finance, but the question always remained in me - why things are the way they are in the world?
By the time I entered university in New York City, I was watching the 2008 Global Financial Crisis unfold just a few blocks away from Wall Street—sometimes from the vantage point of my classroom, other times during my internship in Wall Street. To see the epicenter of the financial world shaken so violently, and to witness the ripple effects across families, economies, and countries, was formative.
These experiences—first as a child, then as a student, and later as a young professional—left deep imprints. They sparked a lifelong fascination with finance and a habit of asking questions about resilience, crisis, and change. Today, I weave those early observations with the lessons of legendary investors and mentors, translating institutional perspectives into insights for personal finance—sharing perspectives on wealth-building in an age of uncertainty and paradigm shifts such as AI, geopolitics, and stablecoins.
2. Sustainable & Impact Investing
The second pillar focuses on the transition toward a more regenerative economy. This includes the energy transition, innovative climate technologies, and a just transition that keeps nature, communities, and humanity at the center of capital flows. Drawing on my experience in global asset management, I want to open conversations about how capital can deliver returns while also strengthening resilience, dignity, and long-term stewardship.
3. Leadership
I believe we learn best by studying those who have walked ahead. In this section, I gather lessons from across domains—finance, academia, politics, government, and technology. Leadership is not just about power, but about clarity of vision, endurance, and the courage to hold paradoxes in volatile times.
4. Conscious Living
Obsidian Odyssey is also about life as a marathon, not a sprint. We are living in an era of expanding longevity—many of us may live to 100. Conscious living means balancing ambition with restoration, striving with stillness, markets with meaning. It is about building a life that is not only successful, but also sustainable, fulfilling, and true—one that becomes both a gift and a legacy for future generations.
5. Artificial Intelligence
We are living through one of the most significant paradigm shifts in history. Artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, societies, and the very nature of work and creativity. This pillar is where I share what I am learning and discovering about AI—from its impact on finance to its role in human life—so that together we can reflect, co-create, and discuss how to shape a future that is both innovative and humane.
🔶 Why Join the Community?
Because this is where next-generation thinkers gather—not just to network, but to redesign the systems that shape our world.
It’s free, private, and rooted in purpose.
🔶 How to Get Involved
Subscribe to the newsletter. Read or contribute to the blog. Pass along to your family, friends, and colleagues. Join future digital salons, gatherings, and retreats.
Come as you are; leave more whole.
💌 Why Subscribe?
Because you’re done with noise.
Each edition delivers signal: grounded insight, soul-fueled finance, and high-frequency reflections on where the world is heading.
Welcome to the Odyssey.
📬 To collaborate or contribute, please connect via LinkedIn.
🌀 Mission
To co-create a just, inclusive, and sustainable world—on Earth and beyond. 🌍✨
⚠️ Disclaimer
All views expressed are personal and do not represent any employer or affiliated institution. This platform is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
