In a world obsessed with disruption and speed, Setareh Heshmat has learned the power of patience.
She’s best known as the Director of ESG Investments at a leading Singapore-based venture capital firm, a trailblazer in the sustainable finance space, and a passionate advocate for ethical investing across Southeast Asia. But behind the sharp intelligence and polished presence lies a deeper, quieter force — one shaped not by quarterly returns, but by purpose, process, and personal evolution.
“I used to think impact was something you did out there — through startups, funds, frameworks,” Setareh says, sipping tea in her Marina Bay apartment, surrounded by books on systems theory and minimalist art. “Now I realize, it starts here,” she says, placing a hand on her chest. “If I’m not aligned internally, nothing I lead externally will last.”
Her words don’t come from a place of idealism. They come from lived experience. Over the past five years, Setareh has navigated some of the toughest decisions in ethical finance — turning down high-growth investments that didn’t align with ESG values, challenging power structures within her own firm, and walking away from deals that compromised integrity for optics. “There were moments I felt isolated,” she admits. “Especially when you’re the only voice saying: slow down, check your values, think long-term.”
But those moments, she says, refined her. Today, she’s no longer just a dealmaker — she’s become an architect of a new investment paradigm. One where empathy coexists with data, and where a founder’s emotional intelligence holds as much weight as their pitch deck.
Setareh’s evolution as a leader mirrors the shift she’s trying to create in finance. Her approach blends rigorous ESG metrics with deep listening. In founder meetings, she often bypasses the usual revenue questions to ask: “What personal truth led you to start this?” or “How will your company stay ethical when it’s under pressure?” For her, these questions reveal more than numbers — they reveal the soul of a business.
But Setareh’s journey hasn’t been all professional. After ending a long-term relationship last year, she took time to reflect, travel solo, and recalibrate her life’s priorities. She describes the period as both painful and liberating. “There’s a strange beauty in starting over,” she says. “You meet yourself in the silence.”
Out of that silence came clarity — not just about her work, but her why. She began sketching out her long-held dream: a purpose-led investment fund dedicated to women founders building climate-resilient solutions in Southeast Asia. Not as a token gesture, but as a structural intervention — a way to shift where power lives, and how it’s used.
“It’s time we stop celebrating the exception,” she says. “It’s not enough to spotlight one woman breaking through. We need to redesign the room so women don’t have to break into it at all.”
Her blueprint includes mentorship models, community-driven investment boards, and regenerative capital structures — funds that grow slowly but meaningfully, in harmony with the planet and people. She calls it “Finance with a Feminine Logic” — collaborative, cyclical, and rooted in stewardship rather than extraction.
Outside her work, Setareh finds grounding in rituals: journaling at sunrise, forest hikes in Bukit Timah, painting abstract shapes that mirror the emotional complexity of her days. “I’ve learned that creativity and leadership feed each other,” she says. “Some of my clearest insights have come not in a boardroom, but on a yoga mat or in the middle of painting something messy and raw.”
When asked what legacy she hopes to leave, she doesn’t mention titles or fund size. Instead, she pauses — a long, thoughtful silence.
“I want to be remembered as someone who stayed true. Who built slowly. Who helped others remember their own purpose, even when the world rewarded shortcuts.”
In a world of noise, Setareh Heshmat is building quietly, intentionally — not just investing in the future, but designing it.
And in doing so, she reminds us that real leadership isn’t loud. It’s clear, consistent, and deeply human.
