A self-described introvert, Nelly Mubashi says she “tries to work in the background and contribute as much as I can.” An immigrant who fled civil chaos in Nicaragua and came to the U.S. as a teenager, Mubashi even makes light of her promotion to chief executive, saying it was the only job left at her registered investment adviser firm she hadn’t already done. But her reserved demeanor conceals a fierce determination to succeed and pave the road for others.
While Mubashi was attending a small college in North Carolina, an internship at a local wealth management firm kindled a love of the business. Moving to St. Louis with her husband, she took a job in credit card collections because wealth management firms wouldn’t hire her. When the couple moved to Seattle, she became a receptionist at a Piper Jaffray branch, studied to become licensed and pushed to join a team that broke away in 2008 to form her current firm. The Mercer Island, Washington-based firm now manages almost $2 billion and, through a separate business, helps other RIAs manage an additional $2 billion. “My own experience taught me that the industry must reach out and hire people with different backgrounds,” Mubashi says
— Evan Cooper