Written by Sinead Crews and Lawrence White
LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC's history-making new chief financial officer, Pam Kaul, is a risk and audit veteran who credits her success to “the power of spirit.”
The first woman to hold the role in the bank's 160-year history, she joins new CEO Georges Ergederi as HSBC navigates a new interest rate cycle and more difficult relationships with China and the West. I have observed up close the challenges faced below.
India-born Kaur, 60, joined HSBC from Deutsche Bank in April 2013 and was promoted to the role of group chief risk and compliance officer, before becoming the latest promotion in a major shake-up announced on Tuesday. fulfilled.
Prior to joining HSBC, he held senior risk and audit roles at City & Lloyds Banking Group, before working at British lender Royal Bank of Scotland, which was rescued during the crisis.
Posts on professional networking platform LinkedIn describe courage and self-confidence as fundamental to successful leadership under the “Power of Chi” management framework that Kaul has promoted to more than 10,000 followers. Perhaps we can get a glimpse of Kaul's management style.
At a time when global financial institutions like HSBC are struggling to decouple strategy from geopolitics and tap into new revenue streams while curbing rising costs of doing business, she needs to marshal all the energy, all the positive energy. There will be.
“I don't know if you can actually find any more banks that have been through the hot furnace of trouble, but she's been at risk in finance, audit or all of the above,” said one former colleague. said. Based on Kaul's extensive experience.
“You don't want people in senior positions to see something bad for the first time. You need someone who has been there and faced live ammunition before going into battle,” the source said.
According to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Kaul is expected to maintain a relatively low profile as CFO, and the newly appointed CEO Erdedeli will be responsible for customer-facing activities such as securing larger transactions from HSBC's corporate clients. It gives them space to concentrate.
But the London-based executive, who holds an MBA from India's Panjab University, is second to none when it comes to developing strategy and will bring her wealth of experience to bear on HSBC's future direction. said the person.
Mr. Elhederi said Tuesday's reorganization would help the financial institution reach its full potential, but analysts said a lack of details on savings and the next reforms he and Mr. Kaur aim for. He pointed out that it had stimulated discussion about the issue.
