By Adam Sylvain
05 February 2025
Blue Ocean Global Wealth CEO Marguerita Cheng TEE’22, an alum of Tuck Executive Education, has always considered herself a right- and left-brain person, with well-rounded interests and a bend toward pragmatism she inherited from her late father Paul S. Cheng.
As a young man, Paul Cheng fled mainland China and traveled to Taiwan where he served in the military before graduating from National Taiwan University and, eventually, immigrating to the U.S. The eldest of Cheng’s three daughters, Marguerita Cheng recalls a childhood memory that instilled the importance of planning from an early age.
“I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, and I remember my dad showing me a safe he had in the house,” recalls Cheng. “He made sure I could open it and access the insurance policies he had inside in case anything should happen to him.”
Cheng says when she shares that story, people often assume she was too young to receive such a stark lesson, but she always understood that in the context of her father’s life journey, planning was one way of showing love and caring for his family.
“My goal with clients is always to help them become financially confident, empowered, and resilient. People do business with people they like and trust, which demands integrity and a willingness to share unpleasant news with empathy and respect.”
In addition to the importance of planning, the story also demonstrated the value of discussing topics that can be uncomfortable. Cheng says both lessons have been paramount to her success as a business leader.
“My goal with clients is always to help them become financially confident, empowered, and resilient,” says Cheng. “People do business with people they like and trust, which demands integrity and a willingness to share unpleasant news with empathy and respect.”
After graduating with a B.A. in East Asian Language & Literature and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland, Cheng worked briefly in corporate finance. When she and her husband were married, Cheng helped organize their household finances and felt a growing desire to leverage what she had learned in the corporate world to help individuals and families achieve their financial goals.
She spent 14 years at Ameriprise Financial Services before founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth in 2013. The firm provides comprehensive financial planning and wealth management solutions to families, entrepreneurs, and executives.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheng applied and was accepted into Tuck Executive Education’s Building a Successful Diverse Business Program. She saw the one-week program as the perfect opportunity to learn from renowned faculty and connect with other diverse business leaders at the renowned Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Together, they strategized ways to grow and adapt to meet the needs of a post-pandemic world.
“Professor Alva Taylor spoke about the need to ‘swivel before you pivot’, which really resonated with me,” says Cheng. “Whether you own a beauty brand, run an auto parts supply company, or manage a call center operation, we all recognized the need to be agile and open to doing some things differently.”
An immediate takeaway for Cheng was to double down on delivering client meetings virtually which spurred significant growth for her business. She also made enhancements to the firm’s website with a focus on SEO and improving digital engagement metrics. More recently, she has expanded her social media presence and is experimenting with more video content. In fact, she hired a fellow program participant, Jonathan “J.E.” Gamble TEE’22, to film a video for her firm. The entire cohort has stayed in touch via WhatsApp, sharing resources and celebrating each other’s wins.
Continuing to find new and creative ways to reach younger audiences is top of mind for Cheng. As more and more people flock to social media for financial advice, she says it’s important to meet them where they are.
“With the rise of influencer marketing, there is so much sponsored content on social media platforms that isn’t providing the same kind of objective, expert advice you get from a CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) professional,” says Cheng. “It’s on all of us to make sure we communicate the right message to the right people in the right places.”
“I always implore other business leaders to hire for potential, not based on past experience.”
When it comes to building and managing teams, Cheng has always prioritized “human skills,” believing that anyone who demonstrates integrity and treats others with respect can learn the tools they need to be successful.
“I always implore other business leaders to hire for potential, not based on past experience,” she says.
Cheng also advises leaders to carve out space and give themselves freedom to assess where they are, experiment with new ideas, and abandon practices that are no longer working.
“Some of my best ideas come to me while I’m running,” says Cheng, who trains for multiple marathons each year. “Especially when I’m outside and able to unplug and take in what’s around me. It’s like moving meditation.”
