OCBC Bank appoints Helen Wong as Chief Executive Officer

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank) announced it has appointed Helen Wong as Group Chief Executive Officer to succeed Samuel Tsien, effective 15 April 2021.

Helen Wong joined OCBC Bank in February 2020 as Deputy President and Head of Global Wholesale Banking. She started her career in banking with OCBC Bank in 1984, and was the Bank’s first China Desk Manager. Her last position was Chief Executive, Greater China from 2015 to 2019, having responsibilities over the business in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan. She had also held various board appointments including serving as an independent director of one of the largest China listed entities. Ms Wong served as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks in 2015.

Ms Wong said, “I am deeply honoured to be succeeding Sam, who is highly regarded and respected. I want to thank the Board for the confidence and opportunity to lead one of Asia’s leading financial institutions. Although Covid-19 struck fiercely at the economy and impacted many lives and livelihoods, we navigated the storm deftly thanks to Sam’s leadership, the team’s united efforts and the Board’s guidance. The team and I will now continue to build on OCBC’s strong foundations to further entrench it as a leading and progressive regional financial institution.”

Commenting on the new appointment, Chairman of OCBC Bank, Ooi Sang Kuang said, “The Board and I congratulate Helen on her new role as the Group CEO. Helen’s experiences and expertise extend beyond corporate banking, Greater China and North Asia. She also ran a large banking operation of a global bank as the Chief Executive of Greater China, including Hong Kong, prior to joining OCBC. We are confident that Helen will be able to lead the OCBC Group to greater heights in an increasingly complex and challenging environment.”