Me

I joined the Bank's Management Associate Programme in South Korea following an MBA from INSEAD. Prior to that, I was a consultant, specialising in supply chain management in the manufacturing sector. My time in consulting has helped me to think more strategically and see the big picture however I wanted a more hands-on experience; to implement my ideas and take a project from start to finish. I decided to join the Bank, seeing the opportunity to pursue my interest and also build on my strengths. I was particularly attracted to the Bank's strengths-based approach which believed in finding the best qualities in people and placing them in the right roles so they can perform.

My opportunities

I started out in product development in Consumer Transaction Banking. I was responsible for not only developing products, but also preparing for the launch and managing post launch activities. It was exactly the kind of work I wanted to be a part of, seeing a project through to completion. One of the first products I worked on became a tremendous success and this gave me a huge sense of confidence and enthusiasm to see what's next.

A year after I joined, we had a new head of Consumer Banking (CB) in South Korea. He was looking for a Business Planning Manager (BPM) and my boss recommended me for the role. As part of the Bank's strengths-based approach, I was given the chance to take an assessment to identify and learn how to make the most of my strengths. The role of a BPM was a good fit with my strengths; I'm a learner and an achiever. As BPM to the Head of CB, I was involved in strategic thinking and planning, as well as to ensure smooth coordination of all projects and work streams. Being a learner meant I enjoyed the learning process and could manage the volume and variety of information we received on a daily basis without feeling overwhelmed. The role of a BPM was also to ensure things happened according to plan. Being an achiever meant I will not rest until the job was done.

Besides playing to my strengths, as a representative of the CB Head, I also had opportunities to interact with senior leaders, and this gave me visibility in the organisation at a relatively young age. At Standard Chartered, building relationships with people and leveraging your network are important in shaping your future success.

During my stint as a BPM, I met with the head of Talent Development in South Korea; he was very approachable and genuine in wanting to help me develop my career. He arranged for a visit to Singapore and this gave me the chance to meet with people from the head office, where I expressed my interest in working at the group level. The opportunity came up and in July 2011, I moved to Singapore to take up a global role in Consumer Banking's Pricing and Cross Sell team. It has been a very smooth transition; I could connect easily to both people I had met during my earlier visit and people I met with for the first time, helping me to settle in really well.

My day

I work in the team that is responsible for coming up with innovative bundle designs to meet various customer needs with just one bundle. We also look at how we can price smarter against the competition and put in place a global framework to achieve greater consistency whilst allowing for localisation.

My earlier role as a BPM has honed my people management and communication skills which are critical to succeed in my current role. I often need to play the role of a mediator between the Product Development and Customer Segment teams; I have to listen to both sides and subsequently repackage the product features and benefits, and attractively price the offering to meet various end customer needs.

I'm on the learning curve and I'm very excited by the opportunity to shape the agenda for this new initiative; to think fresh, lay the foundation and set industry best practices.

My belief

When I joined the Bank, banking was totally new to me, but this knowledge and expertise was something I could learn on the job and from my peers. More importantly was having a customer-oriented mindset ingrained in whatever we do, and for this, I drew on my background as a consultant.

Our aspiration is to become the world's best international consumer bank and having a customer focused strategy is critical to helping us achieve this. In a global role, my customers are the Bank's country teams. I have to engage them to get their input on geographic differences, local business objectives and ultimately get their buy-in to ensure successful implementation.

My future

The Bank has performed exceptionally well and continues to invest for growth. Our unique footprint in Asia, Africa and the Middle East also puts us in a world of opportunity. In the future, I believe the Bank's emphasis will gradually shift from group to regional functions for greater optimisation of strategy and infrastructure. For me, I want to grow with the Bank and this means moving to a regional role in one of our hub locations. My experience in both group and country roles will equip me to strike a good balance between taking a consistent, principle-based approach and meeting bespoke local requirements.