Sarah Li can still remember the line that caught her attention: “We sit at the intersection of wealth management and startup land.” She was in her mid-20s at the time, fresh out of law school, and working at a private bank in Philadelphia. A friend of a friend was recruiting for an analyst role at a new, fast-growing wealth management firm in San Francisco.
Sarah had never heard of the firm and the spelling was unusual: ICONIQ. But when she spoke to the recruiter he described it in that way that resonated with her. At the intersection of wealth management and startup land. The firm also happened to be advising some of the most ambitious founders in the world.
It was exactly what Sarah was looking for. The client side of wealth management drew her to the field after law school—she loved figuring out what makes clients tick and being of service— but the pace at the old-school private bank was glacially slow, and she longed for something more dynamic.
After interviewing with every partner at ICONIQ and what seemed like every member of what was then a 40-person team, Sarah landed the analyst role. Mere hours into her first day, she was staffed on major client work, including helping a family structure what would become one of the largest philanthropies in the world.
“From day one, the amount of opportunity and responsibility was somewhat insane,” she recalls. And the fit was instant. “I knew I had found my people and my place.”
Nearly twelve years later, Sarah is now a Managing Director at ICONIQ. The firm has grown to 600+ people, with offices that span three continents, and Sarah leads a 41-person team that is the same size as the entire firm when she joined.
Raising her hand
What struck Sarah most in those early days, along with all the opportunity, was the collaborative culture. She'd come from law firms and traditional finance—environments defined by competition and sharp elbows. ICONIQ was different. Senior leaders sat at open desks. She could walk over and ask anyone anything. The operating philosophy was about collective problem-solving, not individual wins. "That hive mind is incredibly unique," Sarah says. "It does not exist by default, especially not in finance."
That culture, along with Sarah’s willingness to jump in and do things she had never done before, spurred her forward. She joined as an analyst, the most junior role at the firm, and raised her hand constantly. New client? She volunteered. Someone needed managing? She stepped up.
Her willingness to roll up sleeves extended to things like interviewing Mandarin-speaking baby nurses. Whatever her clients needed. This was what ICONIQ calls “Uncommon Care,” going above and beyond at every turn, and was core to the firm’s approach even in its earliest days.
“I just kept raising my hand and saying, ‘Hey, I think I've got some bandwidth. I think I could be of help here,’” she says. “I remember just diving in and learning things to be able to support and advise the families. It was so much fun. Flash forward to today, that type of opportunity of having to get smart on something really quickly is still a big part of what I do.”
Over time, Sarah moved from analyst to associate, then VP, then Managing Director.
Redefining leadership
As Sarah stepped into more senior roles, she confronted a quieter challenge. The leadership path wasn't always comfortable for her.
"There aren't a ton of female MDs in finance in general," she says.
In her earlier years, she found herself trying to present as rigid, formal, and more aligned with the traditional archetypes of success. Over time, she began to recognize that what she'd once viewed as limitations—her empathy, approachability, and instinct-driven style—were actually assets. “Those qualities distinguish me as a leader,” she reflects. “Different leadership styles make an organization stronger."
What helped her get there, she says, was trust, extended generously and early. Her longtime manager gave her room to run on projects and never micromanaged. “When someone gives you a long leash early in your career, it changes you psychologically,” she reflects. “It builds confidence.”
More recently, a senior leader tapped her to help build the investment management technology strategy for the firm, despite her having no particular background in tech. His message was simple: You're smart, you're capable, you care about people. That's enough. "Those moments where someone taps you on the shoulder and says, 'Yeah, you can do this' those have been some of the most meaningful of my career," she says.
Shaping and being shaped
Today, Sarah leads a team focused on ICONIQ's largest client relationships. The work spans investments, philanthropy, governance, and operations, often without a clear playbook. That ambiguity still energizes her.
“You have to thrive on change,” she says. “Like with the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter, you’re going to be spit out of it if you are not comfortable with or embracing change every single day.”
Sarah also helps oversee the firm's on-campus recruiting program, which brings in roughly a dozen college graduates each year specifically because she believes in opening doors for people who would never have found their way here otherwise. Liberal arts majors. People from backgrounds that traditional finance firms routinely overlook.
“We get some of the best and brightest talent from that program,” she says.
In many ways, she feels ICONIQ has shaped her as much as she has shaped it.
“This place has formed me,” she says. “It has satisfied that intellectual curiosity I’ve always had.”
Working at ICONIQ has shaped her personally as well. Sarah’s husband Tengbo is also at the firm. They met at a dinner party, not at the office, and work in different areas, but they ride the same elevators up and down every day. And this spring, the couple will welcome their first child—a son.
As Sarah prepares to go out on parental leave, she’s grateful ICONIQ recently introduced a flexible return-to-work policy for new parents — a phased transition that allows employees to ease into their new reality rather than going, as she puts it, "from zero to one hundred."
"I feel so much calmer knowing that support is there," she says.
If Sarah could speak to the analyst who first walked into that brick building to interview all those years ago, her advice would be simple: Stay the course. Don't let fear talk you out of the arena. Don't spend years trying to become someone else's version of a leader.
And always—always—raise your hand.
Published:
March, 23rd 2026