Page 32 - Forbes - Asia (October 2019)

PROMOTION
BANKING ON

DIVERSITY

Regional Head of HSBC Private Banking in Asia-Pacific Siew Meng Tan discusses
how the bank promotes gender diversity within the company and

supports female entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Q: You joined HSBC 14 years
ago—from starting out in corpo-
rate banking in Singapore to tak-
ing on the CEO role in Mauritius
and Thailand, and now you’re the
Regional Head of HSBC Private
Banking in Asia-Pacific. What are
some of the biggest challenges
you’ve encountered in taking up a
leadership role in the highly com-
petitive finance industry?

It’s no secret that the finance industry
is traditionally male-dominated, so there
have been times in my career where I’ve
had to work very hard on being visible
and ensuring my voice is heard. The way
I look at it, I always pursue roles that I
enjoy so it makes it easier to transition
from one position to another. Having the
right drive and confidence has helped
me to put myself forward and speak up.
Rather than seeing them as a challenge,
I look at every new assignment as a great
learning experience. For example, mov-
ing from Singapore, known for having
comprehensive regulations versus other
countries that may be less so, I had to
navigate through that as well as learn
how to deal with different people from
different cultures so it taught me a lot.
In those roles—be it in Hong Kong, Mau-
ritius, Singapore or Thailand—the com-
mon thread has been the opportunity for
me to interact with clients to understand Siew Meng Tan, Regional head of HSBC Private Banking in Asia-Pacific
their businesses and needs in order to
serve them better. background—you’re going to get more more women who might prefer dealing
creative ideas and different perspectives with and learning from other women.
Why is gender diversity important in looking at things. And when your busi- Having diversity at our end ensures we
in business? How does it benefit ness is about finding solutions, diversity are able to better cater for all our clients
your clients? becomes even more important. by having the right people to engage
As for private banking in particular, it’s with them, be it different gender or indi-
Having led teams for a long time, I critical to have a diverse team because viduals with different communication
found that when you work with diverse we’re dealing with very successful indi- styles. It’s about having the right level of
teams—be it gender, nationality or viduals and families, and increasingly chemistry and, more importantly, trust.