Simiso Nzima only intended to stay with CalPERS for three years. A student intern in the Investment Office’s corporate governance unit at the time, he was so sure he would be moving on that he did not apply for a parking spot.
Yet 20 years later, Nzima parks his vehicle at CalPERS Headquarters and considers himself a “CalPERS lifer.” He’s promoted multiple times and moved laterally within the Investment Office, where he now heads Global Equity — investing in domestic and international companies listed on public stock exchanges — which makes up nearly half of the CalPERS pension fund.
“CalPERS has great career developmental opportunities, including the chance to learn about different asset classes,” Nzima said. “My own path is testament to that.”
Nzima’s Beginnings in Zimbabwe
Nzima was raised primarily by his grandparents on a farm his grandfather retired from in Zimbabwe. He walked a total of seven miles to and from school through seventh grade, and picked up his grandfather’s $5 pension from the main farmhouse once a month. He didn’t consider his family wealthy, yet acknowledged he was more privileged than most.
“When I went to school, I had shoes and I had new clothes, but there were kids who couldn’t afford shoes,” he said. “I had everything compared to most farm kids. And I never in my life went without a meal.”
But in Zimbabwe, attending school after seventh grade costs money. When it came time for Nzima to attend boarding school 300 miles away, he was able to, thanks to his grandparents’ and parents’ emphasis on education.
“My grandfather didn’t want his kids to end up working on a farm like him,” Nzima said. “A lot of people I went to school with ended up working on those farms, and some of them are still there. Education was a way of getting out.”
Commuting Between CalPERS and UC Berkeley
Nzima wanted to become a chemical engineer, but that degree wasn’t offered in his home country at the time. And he needed a government loan to afford college, which he could only get if he studied domestically.
After graduating with a finance degree in 1999, Nzima spent four years working in Zimbabwe in accounting, equity research, and managing pension fund investments. And he loved the work. That’s when he realized he needed more education and set his sights on master’s degree programs in the United States, where he was accepted into the University of California, Berkeley’s MBA program.
“I knew of CalPERS when I was still in Zimbabwe,” Nzima said. “After I joined CalPERS, I found out that the CalPERS brand opens so many doors and provides access to some of the best minds in investments and in society in general.”
While studying for his master’s degree, Nzima worked as a graduate student intern in the CalPERS Investment Office’s corporate governance unit. Nine months later and during his final semester at UC Berkeley, he’d drive to the Bay Area to take evening classes after working full time as an Investment Officer I in corporate governance (analyzing proxies and holding boards of directors accountable for responsible management of public companies in which CalPERS is invested).
He admits that period was exhausting, but he never questioned his direction.
“I knew I wanted to work in corporate governance and CalPERS is among the preeminent corporate governance leaders in the world,” Nzima explained.
‘Our Work Contributes to the Retirement Security of CalPERS Members and Beneficiaries’
Nzima promoted to an Investment Officer II and III within three years at CalPERS. His plan was to spend three years learning about corporate governance, how it affects the value of companies, and then return to the day-to-day management of investments elsewhere.
Instead, Nzima was asked to take a lateral move into global equity and led the build out of an in-house emerging markets portfolio management structure and capabilities for the next eight years (emerging markets are countries or regions undergoing considerable economic growth but not fully developed).
In 2016, CalPERS moved corporate governance back into global equity and Nzima became head of corporate governance. Less than a year later, he was promoted to Investment Director.
But Nzima’s growth didn’t stop there. In 2021 he promoted to Managing Investment Director of Global Equity.
His work philosophy is simple — excel at what you do, and the promotions will take care of themselves. “Learn as much as you can and do the best you can, not because you’re trying to impress someone, but because you get the satisfaction from a job well done,” Nzima said. “Everything else takes care of itself.”
Nzima finds value in the minutiae because he sees how his role impacts the bigger CalPERS picture over the long haul.
“We’re not investing just for tomorrow. CalPERS invests for the long term, and part of the excitement of my job is seeing the interconnections between the economy and what’s happening in the market,” he said. “The fact that our work contributes to the retirement security of CalPERS members and beneficiaries is such a rewarding feeling.”
We are always hiring for various positions, which all tie into CalPERS’ mission to deliver retirement and health care benefits to members and their beneficiaries. Visit our job openings page for more information.