Bonnie Qiu

I was born in Shanghai, grew up in Kenya, and was educated in the UK so choosing to work for an international firm was a natural move. HSBC is a very open-minded company that accepts graduates from all backgrounds which appealed to me because my degree was in biochemistry and molecular biology – not the typical finance, economics or business degree. I would say that this bank is the perfect place for anyone who is open-minded and looking for an adventure.

The bank has given me opportunities beyond my expectations. I was sponsored to complete a banking degree and become an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Four years after joining the graduate programme in the UK, I converted to the International Manager Programme, and I went to work in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan. This helped improve my Cantonese, Mandarin and Shanghai dialect.

“HSBC is a very open-minded company that accepts graduates from all backgrounds”

I have been lucky to have worked in the frontline as a Premier Relationship Manager, in wholesale banking credit and risk, project management and government relations. I specialised in Wealth and Personal Banking for over a decade in market head roles in mainland China and Taiwan, as well as a global role leading our flagship mass affluent and high net worth customer propositions of Premier and Jade.

My last role was CEO Mauritius, where I led a team of 300 to strategically pivot our Wholesale Banking business there to international corridor business. I learnt a lot about enterprise-wide leadership, and how to be the brand, and the ultimately responsible executive in the local market.

I have now relocated back to Hong Kong to the Co-CEO office as Managing Director, Business Development Asia Pacific. In this role I am working with various markets to explore growth opportunities. On a personal front, I am happy to be closer to family, and for my mum to enjoy her grandchildren!