Kathryn Shih
Until she decides to fully hang it up, no list of women in wealth is complete without industry doyenne Kathryn Shih.
Born in 1958, the UK citizen was raised in the Philippines and Singapore before studying in the US and relocating to Hong Kong in 1983, originally for the purpose of getting married. Despite not speaking the local language of Cantonese, Shih managed to land a job at UBS in 1987, ground zero for a 36-year private banking career in Asia.
Although no longer operating in a day-to-day capacity, Shih continues to stay connected to the wealth management industry. She joined Julius Baer in 2020 as a member of its board of directors and is also a Temasek fellow at Singapore’s Wealth Management Institute.
Siew Meng Tan
Compared to others on the list, Siew Meng Tan is a relative newcomer to the game.
But despite only joining the industry in 2017 as HSBC’s APAC regional head of private banking, Tan is already causing ripples. By leveraging her previous experience, she has increased connectivity between HSBC’s private bank and commercial bank, resulting in increased cross-divisional activities and significant growth in the UHNW business.
Tan has over 30 years of experience and first joined HSBC in 2004 before taking on various senior roles including Singapore head of commercial banking, Mauritius CEO and Thailand CEO.
