Lead from the Front

This issue, as we celebrate women who have broken barriers and shattered glass ceilings in their various endeavours, we spotlight two female bankers who have paved the way for their fellow womankind in the competitive world of finance.

Veteran banker Laura Hwang made the news,, in 1984 when she became the first Singaporean managing director of international merchant bank Arbuthnot Latham Asia. Her appointment was even more significant as she was the first woman to head a bank in what was then a male-dominated sector. “While many men in the industry were initially wary of dealing with a woman, I took it as my responsibility to change their attitude as best I could through my performance,” she said.