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HKUST MBA |
ALUMNI NEWS
Interview with Outstanding Alumnus – Arthur Yuen (MBA 1998)
Interview with Outstanding Alumnus – Arthur Yuen (MBA 1998)
Hong Kong has survived financial crises and various challenges, thanks to a banking system solidly built upon a foundation of a prudent supervisory regime. As the Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Arthur described the rapid changes in the financial industry and the new demand for talents, about which young professionals should be aware.
“Millennials are tech savvy, and instead of hearing advice from traditional bankers, they prefer to manage their own portfolios.” Arthur has witnessed a significant shift of demand in employee skillsets from direct selling to data analytics, behavior modeling, and information management. As clients now expect more customized products that truly fit their needs, cross-team collaboration and listening skills have become more important in the financial industry. With the growing importance of banking governance, Arthur sees an increased opportunity in positions related to risk management and internal control. “Young people may fancy investment banking and the buy-side, but it is no longer the trend for the banks,” he commented.
“Millennials are tech savvy, and instead of hearing advice from traditional bankers, they prefer to manage their own portfolios.” Arthur has witnessed a significant shift of demand in employee skillsets from direct selling to data analytics, behavior modeling, and information management. As clients now expect more customized products that truly fit their needs, cross-team collaboration and listening skills have become more important in the financial industry. With the growing importance of banking governance, Arthur sees an increased opportunity in positions related to risk management and internal control. “Young people may fancy investment banking and the buy-side, but it is no longer the trend for the banks,” he commented.
As a Deputy Chief Executive, Arthur is heavily involved in publicity, and one of his key responsibilities is to convey regulatory policies to the public and share the valuable experience of Hong Kong’s financial industry with the rest of the world. Speaking at international conferences is one his many communication strategies.
Apart from technical skills, Arthur emphasized three common qualities that all employees should possess, namely communication, teamwork, and integrity. In HKMA, employees need to have outstanding communication skills to convey new policies to stakeholders, and to convince them to accept such policies.
“Listening and being able to translate ideas or comments heard are important nowadays in policy formation. In the past, policy was formulated in the form of decision by the Government. Today, stakeholders involvement plays an important role in this aspect. By the same token, the public would expect banking professionals to be able to meet their rising expectations,” said Arthur.
In the banking industry, the evolution of Fintech and the regulatory system has led to a complex work environment. Cross-disciplinary projects such as virtual banking development, legal compliance, and programming are now imperative. Hence, teamwork has become crucial, unlike in the past when personal performance was paramount. Last but not least, integrity is essential in any public or banking institution in order to maintain the public’s trust. Banking professionals should always exercise their duties with care. As the leader of a large team of 400 staff, Arthur sums up his management philosophy, “Authority is not imposed from above but is accepted from below.”
Despite advancing into a senior position, Arthur still sees the HKUST MBA community as a valuable asset, and urges recent graduates to actively stay in touch with their MBA peers. “Communication is much easier nowadays, and with mobile, WhatsApp, and WeChat, you don’t really need too much extra effort to stay in touch. I keep meeting my classmates even so many years after graduation, and there is always something new that I learn from them, either new aspects of professional information or a piece of advice for personal life.” Arthur concluded, “Keep the connection and keep contributing, and you will always find the MBA network to be a rewarding one.”
