Gifts and milestones

Today we celebrate a New Lunar Year, saying goodbye to the Tiger and hello to the Rabbit. Many people are exchanging gifts to capture the joy of new beginnings and our renewed ability to be with people we love. 'Seeing off' the departing year is very important in my culture, along with gifts and festivities. We try to be grateful for anything positive that happened, and remember and let go of emotional baggage that came with difficulties and challenges.

The Tiger was not always kind in 2022 - volatile markets, heightened geopolitical tensions and economic downturn left most of us tired and somewhat disoriented. My own family is now scattered across Moscow, Tel Aviv, New Zealand and London, making seeing each other difficult.

But I would like to observe the ritual properly, and focus on two amazing professional achievements for which I am grateful.

First is a beautiful coin, a tangible token of my five years with HSBC. Receiving this gift coincided with a trip to Hong Kong and a long-anticipated visit to the HSBC Archives. I got to hear once more a story of my personal hero, Sir Vandalier Greyburn and his remarkable dedication to banking, the company, colleagues and customers at a time of great adversity. No wonder we look at some of our predecessors with awe, as they were the true servant leaders. I feel that my sense of purpose has been renewed by this trip, ready to continue my own service with HSBC.

Second is an enormous privilege to join HSBC UK Board as a non-executive director. I had to say good-bye to my friends on the HSBC LATAM Board and thank them for getting me ready for this opportunity. Boards and their operations are sometimes shrouded in mystery. ‘To sit” on the board sounds passive, in reality the job is anything but that! It is a tremendous learning journey and one must remember that the way to add value as a board member is very different from how it is done in an executive role. I was fortunate to undertake a robust training course, sponsored by our Group Company Secretary and Chief Governance Officer and facilitated by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Throughout the course, I felt the depth of my ignorance and gained even more respect for people with the awesome responsibility of executing corporate governance.

What am I going to do with these gifts? Continue to learn, evolve as a professional and a human being, share my own meagre expertise generously and remember that the root of prosperity is in knowing who you are, having a sense of purpose and taking care of those around us.

Happy Lunar New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choy! Gong Xi Fa Cai!?

?#HSBC?#YearoftheRabbit?