FWA MALE CHAMPIONS
The Financial Women’s Association of Singapore is a champion of gender diversity & inclusion (D&I) in the workplace. We engage individuals and organisations to recognize the contribution women have been making to the economy, the multiple hats women wear as care-givers and workers, and the importance of unbiased, fair and flexible work practices that support the advancement of women in their careers.
As part of our journey of promoting D&I, the objective of FWA’s male champion’s initiative is to engage men: men who understand the demands of work and family that women face and are supportive of their pursuit of success on both fronts.
FWA’s Male Champions were announced on March 2015 at FWA’s annual celebration of International Women’s Day. Our Male Champions are men in senior leadership positions who champion and support women seeking success on both the professional and personal fronts, can effect change in their organisations and be firm supporters of gender D&I in their workplaces and society at large.
Our Male Champions commit to the following:
To support and promote gender diversity in their workplace through events in partnership with FWA
To provide voluntary mentorship via the FWA mentoring program
To consider corporate sponsorship of FWA activities that promote gender diversity and the development of female talent
To advice the FWA Exco on gender issues and developments in the workplace
We are honoured and delighted to have the following accomplished men share our journey of continuous engagement and empowerment of women in achieving greater success in the workplace and in their personal lives. Your support, guidance and mentorship is very appreciated as we continue to engage greater numbers of men to support FWA’s work and mission.
Alexander is Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific & Middle East, and Country CEO, Singapore. In his Country CEO role, he is responsible for managing and developing the franchise, including expanding and strengthening client relationships across the Corporate and Investment Bank platform. He is also responsible for maintaining strategic relationships with the regulator and the Singapore government for the respective businesses and functions within Singapore.
In August 2021, Alexander was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Asia Pacific. In this role, he supports the strong growth agenda in the region, partnering with both regional and local senior stakeholders to drive complex multi-year strategies for Barclays in Asia Pacific. In January 2023, his remit was further expanded to cover the Middle East and Africa region.
He is a member of the Asia Pacific Executive Forum and the Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) COO Global Management Committee. Alexander is also an active supporter of Barclays’ regional citizenship and diversity agenda through his membership on the Asia Pacific Citizenship Council, and being former Co-Chair of the APAC Women’s Initiatives Network (WIN), former Co-Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, and a Male Champion at the Financial Women’s Association of Singapore.
Alexander joined Barclays in 1998 and has over two decades of banking experience, spanning multiple roles and geographies. Prior to taking on his current roles, he was concurrently the Head of Corporate Banking, Asia Pacific and Middle East. Before relocating to Singapore from Dubai in 2015, Alexander was the Head of International Debt Finance, responsible for all non-UK debt origination across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. He also served as a member of the senior leadership team for Global Credit Products, where he supported Corporate Banking’s broader product agenda.
Before his stint in Dubai, he was based in the UK, focusing primarily on leveraged finance and led the London Debt Finance team. Earlier in his career, Alexander held sector coverage roles in both the industrials (Chemical and Pharmaceuticals) and TMT sectors.
Alexander holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from Birmingham University. Following his graduation, he undertook a post graduate research role at Leeds University.
Alvin Lee has 23 years of banking experience across wealth management, corporate and consumer banking and treasury, with specialisations in product and risk management, as well as business development. Alvin has worked in different geographies across Asia, Europe, Africa and Middle East in various global and regional roles. Past employers include JP Morgan, Citibank, Barclays in London and Burgan Bank in Middle East. His current role in Maybank is Head of Wealth Management for Maybank group and he sits on the Singapore Management Committee amongst other leadership committees including Asset Liability Committee and Group Community Financial Services Committee. Outside of work, Alvin is Honorary Treasurer of Singapore Rugby Union, a board member on Singapore Rugby Pte Ltd and President of Raffles Rugby Union. Alvin also serves in Singapore Armed Forces as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Mr. Mitchell is an executive vice president and head of marketing APAC. Based in Singapore, he is responsible for leading the marketing strategy in the region and overseeing a team of channel, digital, and content marketing professionals. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2022, he was head of the APAC client management office at abrdn. Previous roles with abrdn included global head of marketing, global head of digital, and head of marketing APAC. Prior to this, Mr. Mitchell spent 21 years at Fidelity Investments and Fidelity International in various marketing and sales leadership roles based in the U.S., South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He has 26 years of investment and financial services experience and holds an undergraduate degree in communications from Boston College and a certificate in financial planning from Boston University.
Dennis Tan is CEO of Prudential Singapore as well as Council Member at IBF Singapore.
A veteran banker, Dennis has 26 years of experience in consumer banking spanning product development, segment management, marketing as well as sales and distribution.
Prior to joining Prudential in February 2020, Dennis was with OCBC Bank for 10 years and last held the role of Head, Consumer Financial Services.
He also spearheaded the growth of OCBC’s Premier Banking business in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China as Head of Branch and Group Premier Banking. He was also a member of OCBC Bank’s Management Committee.
He began his career as a Management Associate with Citibank Singapore in 1993. In 16 years, Dennis rose through the ranks to become Managing Director, Sales and Distribution where he was responsible for 20 branches and 700 frontline staff.
Dennis holds a Bachelor of Science in Business (Honours with Distinction) from Indiana University and has completed the Stanford Executive Programme at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a Certified Financial Planner.
Greg Kallinikos serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Asia Pacific region where he has overseen operations for StoneX Group Inc. across Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Australia since 2018.
Mr. Kallinikos joined the group in 2011, previously serving as Chief of Staff EMEA, where he led the firm’s M&A and corporate development activities outside the Americas. Prior to StoneX, he held positions in corporate finance focusing on Equity Capital Markets for the energy and mining sectors.
He holds a BSc (Honors) in Management Studies from Brunel University, and an LLM (Master of Laws) in Venture Capital from the University of Westminster in the UK.
Henry Quek is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Official Institutions for the Asia-Pacific region for State Street. He is also APAC Head of Foreign Exchange Sales.
Besides leading the Official Institutions Sector in APAC, he is also responsible for growing the Foreign Exchange business in the region through our offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Sydney and Beijing.
He has a degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and has been a member of Mensa since 1981.
Henry has 30 years of financial markets experience including managing relationships with Official Institutions. He has been with State Street for the past 11 years.
Hian Goh is a Founding Partner of Openspace Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on Technology, Media and Internet companies in South East Asia.
Openspace Ventures manages over US$500 million across 4 funds. Openspace funds are ranked upper quartile performing according to Cambridge Associates global VC benchmarks. Selected investments let by Hian include Series A into Gojek, Love Bonito, a leading online female fashion label, FinAccel, leading fintech player in Indonesia, Chope Group, the dominant restaurant reservations business in South East Asia, and Kumu, a top live streaming company in the Philippines.
Hian was the Founder of the Asian Food Channel (AFC), a 24-Hour food and lifestyle Pay TV network, which was acquired by Scripps Networks in 2013.
Hian began his career as an investment banker and was a founding member of the Salomon Smith Barney Technology investment banking practice in Asia, (now part of Citigroup) in 1999.
Hian graduated with a degree in Jurisprudence (Law) from Trinity College, Oxford, and an MBA from INSEAD. He is also a Reserve Officer with the Singapore Navy and is a Board Member of the Singapore Science Centre.
Him Chuan holds a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy (Honours) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and completed the Accelerated Development Programme (business leadership) at the Chicago Booth School of Business. He was conferred the title of Singapore Institute of Banking and Finance Fellow in 2014 in recognition of his contributions to the Singapore financial services industry and his industry thought leadership.
Holger Beckmann is a seasoned Human Resources (HR) leader with over 20 years’ experience. Holger has held several leadership roles in HR across different regions and organizations, demonstrating a strong track record of strategic HR management and cultural transformation initiatives. He is recognized for his strategic mindset, strong leadership skills, and commitment to driving HR initiatives that support business growth and employee development.
He is currently the Director of Human Resources at COFACE Services South Asia Pacific, where he is a member of the Executive Committee and oversees HR operations across Asia-Pacific. His responsibilities include managing a regional HR team, implementing HR projects, recruiting at C-level, and driving cultural transformation initiatives. He has also held prior senior HR roles at COFACE in Poland and Germany, responsible for Central-, Eastern- and Northern-Europe.
Since finishing his coaching education in 2010, Holger was and is an active Mentor and Coach for various internal and external Mentees and Coachees, ranging from inside Coface, to the public sector and graduate students for career coaching.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Beckmann held various HR leadership positions at LBS Landesbausparkasse Südwest and LBS Landesbausparkasse Rheinland-Pfalz, where he gained experience in personnel development, organizational development, and change management.
Ian Macdonald joined Aberdeen in 2013. As the firm’s Head of Hong Kong and Deputy Head of Asia Pacific, he works together with Hugh Young to lead the continued development of our business in the region. His direct reports include Aberdeen’s APAC Market Heads as well as the regional Heads of Product, Human Resources, Business Risk, Compliance and Legal.
In 1998 Ian qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse in London before joining Lazard as an M&A banker. In 2005, he moved to Hong Kong to head HSBC’s Asia Pacific private equity coverage team. Since 2008, Ian has been based in Singapore and was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the emerging markets equities fund management firm, Arisaig Partners. Ian is an alumnus of both IMD (Program for Executive Development) and Harvard Business School (Advanced Management Program). Ian is a member of the Executive Committee of both IMAS and the ASIFMA Asset Management Group.
James Leong is Chief Executive Officer of Grasshopper, a leading quantitative trading platform and technology provider. He joined the firm in the period between the two Asian financial crises—a time of volatility and opportunity—and has been instrumental in its transformation. Over the course of sixteen years, he partnered with the founder to build Grasshopper from a two-man team into a dynamic regional powerhouse in quantitative trading and technology.
Prior to becoming CEO, James held senior roles within the firm, including Head of Trading, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. With a background in organisational psychology, he brings a people-first approach to leadership, grounded in trust, curiosity, and long-term thinking. His commitment to culture, transparency, and high performance continues to shape the way Grasshopper grows and operates.
Mr Jason Moo was appointed CEO of Bank of Singapore in March 2023. He joined Bank of Singapore from Julius Baer, where he was Head Private Banking Southeast Asia and Branch Manager Singapore.
Prior to joining Julius Baer in 2020, Mr Moo worked at Goldman Sachs for more than two decades and has held several senior roles, including CEO of Goldman Sachs Singapore and Head of Southeast Asia and Australia for Private Wealth Management (PWM). Before relocating back to Singapore, he was based in Hong Kong as Head of Market Solutions Group and Head of Alternative Capital Markets Asia Pacific. Prior to that, he worked in the Equities Merchandising Group in New York. He joined Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst in PWM in Singapore upon graduation.
Mr Moo earned a BA in Economics and East Asia Studies, with a focus on Japan, from Brown University, USA. He serves on the Board of Governors of Raffles Institution.
Justin Holloway was appointed Chief Financial Officer Singapore of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in Oct 2023.
Justin joined HSBC in 2009 in Dubai and has since held several senior finance roles. He started with HSBC as the Chief Financial Officer Commercial Banking Middle East before moving to Hong Kong where he held the dual positions of Head of Strategic Planning and Analysis, Asia Pacific and Regional Chief Financial Officer Commercial Banking, Asia Pacific. Justin then held the position of CFO Australia, ASEAN and South Asia before moving to Singapore.
Justin currently serves as a non-executive director and chairman of HSBC Securities (Singapore) Pte Limited (“HCPT”).
Trained as a Chartered Accountant in Australia, Justin obtained his post-qualification experience with PWC and has over 27 years’ finance and banking experience in the United Kingdom, Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Mr. Kenneth Tan is the Chief Corporate Solutions Officer of AIA Singapore. He oversees AIA Singapore's Corporate Solutions business which provides comprehensive employee benefits programmes for companies and their employees across Singapore. He is responsible for driving sustainable growth strategies and implementing business critical initiatives to strengthen AIA Singapore's market leadership in employee insurance. This also includes adding new capabilities for AIA Singapore through innovative business development initiatives.
Lee Lung Nien is Citi Country Officer and Banking Head (CCOBH) for Singapore, the first Singaporean in 50 years to hold this senior position. He oversees all Citi businesses and operations in Singapore, driving franchise performance, client and regulatory relationships and maintaining a robust risk and control environment.
Lung-Nien has over 35 years of experience in Citi, most recently served as Chairman of Citi Private Bank for South Asia since 2020. His extensive career includes leadership roles such as CEO of Citibank Berhad in Malaysia and various senior positions in AML, Operations, Corporate Sales & Structuring, and Markets across Asia, with international experience in London, New York, and Malaysia.
Mr LIM Chow-Kiat is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GIC. As Chief Executive Officer, Mr LIM holds the responsibility for the overall performance and capabilities of GIC. He joined GIC in 1993 as a portfolio manager. He has held various leadership roles, including most recently as Group Chief Investment Officer, and previously as President of Public Markets, President of Europe and Director of Fixed Income Currency and Commodity.
Mr LIM is a member of the Singapore’s Committee on the Future Economy (CFE). In addition, he is a trustee of Nanyang Technological University, Deputy Chairman of Wealth Management Institute, member of Strategic Committee of Agence France Tresor and board member of Focusing Capital on the Long Term Global. He is also Chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Lee Kuan Yew Education Fund as well as the Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism.
Mr. Lim graduated with first-class honors in accountancy from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is a chartered financial analyst (CFA).
Mr Loh Boon Chye joined Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) as CEO on 14 July 2015. He is also an Executive and Non-Independent Director on the SGX Board.
With a career in the financial industry that spans three decades, Mr Loh has played a key role in the development of Southeast Asia’s capital markets. Prior
to SGX Group, he was Deputy President and Head of Asia Pacific Global Markets, and Country Executive for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Bank of
America-Merrill Lynch. He spent 17 years in Deutsche Bank where his last role was the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for Asia Pacific.
Mr Loh currently sits on the board of GIC Pte Ltd. He is also Chairman of the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics Advisory Board, Co-Chair of the Council for Board Diversity, Vice-Chair of the World Federation of Exchanges, as well as a council member and Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Banking & Finance Singapore.
Leading SGX Group’s efforts in sustainability and climate action, Mr Loh serves as an independent advisory committee member in the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative, Co-Chair of the Singapore Green Finance Centre advisory board, as well as advisory board member for the Climate Governance Singapore Limited and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)’s Asia-Pacific Network. He is also a member of the GFANZ’s CEO Principals Group.
Mr Loh holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the National University of Singapore.
Mahesh Sethuraman is the CEO of Saxo Singapore. With a distinguished career in the financial industry, Mahesh has been at the forefront of driving strategic initiatives and operational excellence in Singapore. His leadership has been pivotal in enhancing the company's digital presence and enhancing client experiences in managing financial well being.
Nicolo Magni is Head of Global Banking South East Asia & India for UBS. Prior to that Nicolo was Co-Head of the Strategic Equity Solutions Group ("SESG") for UBS in APAC as well as Head of Private Financing Markets ("PFM") for APAC. Nicolo is now based in Singapore from March 2020; he joined UBS in Hong Kong in 2011. Prior to that, Nicolo was at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan in London. Nicolo holds a Master degree from ESCP-EAP, Paris.
Rajeev Natarajan is the Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific for ICONIQ Capital, a privately-held investment firm that serves some of the world’s most influential families and organizations. Prior to ICONIQ, Rajeev spent nine years within the Investment Management and Securities Divisions of Goldman Sachs, across the London, Sydney, and Singapore offices. He also spent two years in a raw material and commodity trading business in Hong Kong and four years as a Management Consultant with Accenture in their Melbourne and Atlanta offices. Rajeev holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from London Business School.
Sage has been with IHS Markit for 9 years, starting with the legacy Markit entity.
Prior to joining Markit, Sage was responsible for Pricing and Valuations at Fitch Solutions. He spent a portion of his career at key tier one Investment banks, starting at Salomon Brothers into Citi Global Markets, Bank of America N.A and RBC Capital Markets in the leadership role within Trading, Product Management and Product Development functions in London, New York and Toronto.
Over the last 9 years, Sage has been driving IHS Markit’s expansion into the APAC Credit & Fixed Income markets, more recently expanding his responsibilities into IHS Markit’s Derivatives business. The key mandate is to provide solutions addressing challenges faced by our customers in today’s ever-changing landscape.
Sage graduated from Manchester Business School, UK with a BSc (Hons) International Business, Finance and Economics.
Samuel Rhee is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Endowus, Asia’s leading digital wealth platform. He is the former CEO and CIO of Morgan Stanley Investment Management in Asia, with nearly three decades of institutional investing experience in Singapore, Hong Kong, and London.
Today, Sam heads the Endowus Group Investment Office and ensures every client has greater access to holistic portfolios that are thoughtfully designed to meet their specific wealth goals. He is responsible for the company’s asset allocation and investment selection across all offerings, with a vision to provide individual investors with the same knowledge, resources, and products traditionally only made available to institutional investors, at a low, fair fee.
Against this backdrop, Sam passionately advocates for greater financial literacy, time-tested and evidence-based advice, lower costs, the industry elimination of hidden fees, and a corporate culture that puts the client’s needs first. Endowus solves the biggest problems of wealth and investing, and retirement adequacy, leading the firm to become the first and largest digital advisor for CPF investing in Singapore.
He joined Quantedge Capital in 2013 and took on the role of CEO in 2018. Prior to that, Suhaimi was a banking & finance partner at the pre-eminent Singapore law firm of Allen & Gledhill LLP.
Suhaimi is a strong believer in skills-based volunteering. He contributes as a board member on the boards of a number of Singapore government-linked agencies and non-profit organizations, each of which addresses matters and causes close to his heart. These include the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), The Esplanade (Singapore’s national performing arts center), WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) Singapore, NS Square Ltd, Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE), KidSTART Singapore Ltd and TalentTrust Limited. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Raffles Institution, Singapore Exco member of the Alternative Investment Managers Association and Board Chairman of Access Singapore and Tri Sector Charity Consultants.
While serving his national service obligations in 1999, Suhaimi was awarded the Sword-of-Honour for being the best infantry cadet and the prize for Best in Military Knowledge. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Nottingham, he garnered the award for Best Applicant Memorial at the UK Telders International Moot Court Competition. He was also awarded the NSman of the Year Award in 2024.
Suhaimi previously contributed to the review of Singapore’s Charity Code of Governance and Charity Transparency Framework and is currently a judge for the Charity Governance Awards, and a member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Corporate Governance Advisory Committee.
He was also previously a director on the boards of National Environment Agency, Skillsfuture Singapore Agency, Quantedge Foundation and Warees Investments, Council Member of the National Arts Council, Charity Council and the Council for Board Diversity, and founding Exco Member of the Young Business Leaders Network.
Thomas Kaegi is the Head of UBS Asset Management Singapore & SEA, as well as Global Head of Sales Management.
He is the CEO and a member of the board of UBS Asset Management (Singapore) Ltd.
As head of Asset Management Singapore & SEA, Thomas is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy for the location, as well as ensuring engagement with clients, regulators, industry bodies and key stakeholders.
As the Global Head of Sales Management, Thomas drives sales activities in close collaboration with the client coverage teams across the various regions.
Before moving across to UBS Asset Management in 2015, Thomas worked in various leadership roles within distribution and research for UBS Global Wealth Management.
He started his career with UBS in 2002 in Zurich and moved to Singapore in 2005.
Tim Colyer is a partner based in Oliver Wyman’s Singapore office. He leads the firm’s financial services practice in Southeast Asia, and the climate and sustainability team in Asia Pacific. He has been helping clients mostly in financial services to deal with challenges requiring technical expertise to make strategic changes.
Tim has been based in Southeast Asia since 2017, and currently focuses on supporting financial institutions in addressing challenges and opportunities presented by climate and sustainability, and leads the team supporting companies both financial and non-financial in meeting this challenge. Tim is a regular speaker at industry conferences and at multiple ASEAN events on financial stability, financial market deepening, and net-zero transition. He regularly publishes papers and writes a regular LinkedIn blog on sustainability. Tim has also been the author of multiple pieces of industry standards and thought leadership, including with ASEAN Capital Markets Forum to develop the ASEAN Transition Finance Guidance. Tim studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Oxford University, and spent 3 years as a business journalist prior to joining Oliver Wyman in London in 2004.
Wei Han is the Senior Country Business Manager (SCBM) for South and Southeast Asia responsible for the governance and operations of JPM wholesale businesses in the region that employ 5000 employees across 7 countries (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, India). He is also the Location Leader for the Singapore Corporate Centre, responsible for key support functions across technology, operations, finance, human resources, audit and other Chief Administrative Office (CAO) functions in the strategic hub.
Prior to the SCBM role, Wei Han held a number of regional leadership roles in JP Morgan including Senior Business Manager for Asia currencies and emerging markets trading responsible for the trading business in 14 countries, Business Control Officer and Asia Lead for legal entity strategy and derivatives reforms.
Prior to JP Morgan, Wei Han spent 6 years in the Credit Suisse Group audit department as an audit manager covering Asia Pacific investment banking and private banking businesses and 4 years in PricewaterhouseCoopers as an audit supervisor of multinational companies.
Wei Han holds a Master of Finance from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) from Nanyang Technological University. He is also a Chartered Accountant with membership in the Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ) and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA).