The absence of formal financial services in the face of the actual economy's transition from old to new sources of energy and development modes has led to the emergence of a widespread shadow banking sector. Based on the high-order ladder theory, this paper examines the influence of executives' financial background on non-financial firms' shadow banking. The finding reveals a positive impact of executive financial backgrounds on non-financial firms' shadow banking, mainly driven by the executives' non-banking financial experiences, primarily contributing to the shadow credit chain model. Additionally, high-quality external audits discourage management from engaging in blind shadow banking activities.