From Where I Sit - Pippa Vizzone

From where I sit today as Head of Equity Research for APAC, I am privileged to lead a business that has evolved into one that is almost unrecognizable in size, scale, and impact from the one I joined 25 years ago.

Today we cover over 1,250 stocks in Asia Pacific across eight markets. The scale of our 200+ strong team across nine offices is more than 10x the size of the small but mighty team that first broke ground in Hong Kong more than 30 years ago. As Goldman Sachs grew its presence and global influence, we built out the team across the region, initiating on iconic names that the firm helped bring to the public markets—China Telecom in 1990s, PetroChina, ICBC and Ping An in 2000s, to Alibaba and Meituan in 2010s

Interestingly, more than half of APAC’s 1,250+ coverage names were initiated in the past eight years—a staggering number to frame our (and the region’s) growth. That coverage shift reflects the incredible pace of innovation, new addressable markets, ever shifting competitive landscapes, and the constant evolving interests of our clients. We emphasize analytical ambition—initiative and experimentation, an ability to adapt and move quickly, to be willing to fail and then try again. All at speed and with precision—when time to market is of the essence.

What hasn’t changed during this time is the focus on quality, insight and differentiation, and the connectivity and collaboration of our people. We focus on getting it right—be it a company’s 3-year forward estimate or how a technology adoption curve might scale and evolve.

I am proud to say we hold sacred the apprenticeship culture that has always been at the core of Goldman Sachs. For 18 years, I was a Financials Institutions analyst, part of a team led by GS partner alumnus and a founding member of Asia’s research department Roy Ramos. I am grateful that the DNA of his team is now more than 30 years strong and integral in how we think about excellence, thought leadership, client service, apprenticeship and team growth.

We recently held the inaugural Asia Leaders Conference, a true OneGS event with my fellow partners collaborating to build a forum for our clients across all divisions. The growth of AI and early adoption of application in the region was of course top of mind, as was technology convergence across autonomous and robotic technology, the surge of new Asian IPs, and the impact of Anti-Involution in China.

We were delighted to host GS alumni Mike Novogratz and James Mitchell as our inaugural keynotes and to be joined by many of you who are now clients across the firm. You are unrivalled as a group in your prominence, impact, and reach in the region, and on behalf of the firm, I would like to express deep appreciation for your partnership and support. I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming alumni event in HK.

Pippa Vizzone