On the occasion of receiving TAB Global Best Bank CEO in Hong Kong award—alongside the bank’s citation as Best Managed Bank in Hong Kong—Mary Huen, CEO of Hong Kong and Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered shares how cultivating talent, inspiring others and building institutional legacy continue to energise her most. Now in her ninth year as CEO, Huen is most excited when speaking not about balance sheets or transactions, but about people—specifically, about nurturing future leaders and empowering those around her to thrive. “When I see talent, I want to help them succeed. I want to open doors for them,” she said. Her leadership approach, forged across three decades in banking, is defined by a blend of commercial stewardship and personal sponsorship. This lens—of shaping people and culture—reframes every facet of her leadership and the bank’s transformation. Reflections on recognition and leadership For Huen, the Best Bank CEO award is both personal and collective. “It is not a one-person recognition,” she said. “It reflects a long journey that I have had the privilege to be part of, and the efforts of an incredible team.” She credits this recognition to the many people she has worked alongside and mentored, through successive phases of institutional evolution—from analogue to digital, and into virtual finance. This recognition is also a validation of a leadership style that prioritises sustainability not spectacle. Her dedication lies in quiet stewardship—enabling a legacy beyond headline successes—through eras of analogue, digital and virtual transformation. “This award gives me a chance to pause and reflect.” Leading through crisis and reinvention has deepened her belief that leadership is not a performance of strength, but a commitment to continuity, humility and responsibility. “There is so much that happens behind the scenes to keep an institution resilient.” Board-level alignment and institutional resilience That resilience is underpinned by a long view and strong governance. Huen points to the bank’s board as more than an oversight body—they are partners in purpose and conscience-keepers. “Our board plays the role of conscience. They give us a critical external lens,” she said. Their mix of perspectives, drawn from diverse sectors, brings a necessary tension and richness to decision-making. Huen says of her board, which she credits with anchoring the bank’s strategy in purpose and community. Board alignment underpins both agility and ethical accountability, especially crucial during regulatory shifts and global shocks. In her words, “Having an aligned board allows us to be more agile without losing sight of who we serve.” This alignment empowers executive leadership to take bold, future-facing decisions while staying grounded in institutional ethics. It also strengthens cross-functional collaboration, embedding trust in both top-down and bottom-up directions. Talent and succession Of all the areas Huen oversees, it is talent development that resonates most deeply. Her eyes light up when she speaks about people she has mentored, or leadership potential she has helped uncover. “It is not just about skills and competencies,” she said. “It is about values alignment, and the ability to inspire, communicate and lead with integrity.” Succession is not treated as a procedural exercise but as a strategic and moral imperative. Huen actively identifies promising individuals and creates space for them to thrive. She stresses honesty—especially around one’s own failures—as a teaching tool. “Sometimes it is about being honest with your failures too. That is how people grow.” The bank introduced the framework “Inspire. Aspire. Execute.” as a common language for leadership across all segments and functions. To Huen, it is both a personal credo and an organisational compass, reinforcing a culture of ambition rooted in accountability. When a mentee once told her, “If you had not believed in me, I would not have made it through,” it reaffirmed what drives her most. Balancing public duty with business outcomes Standard Chartered’s identity as a note-issuing bank in Hong Kong carries a weight beyond commercial interest. For Huen, this responsibility does not conflict with business objectives—it amplifies them. “There is no contradiction between public duty and client value,” she said. “They reinforce each other.” During moments of systemic stress, such as the pandemic or geopolitical tensions, the bank’s dual role became more apparent. “We have helped many clients diversify into ASEAN, realign operations, and still stay connected to Greater China. That’s what being a super-connector means.” ASEAN is now a critical trade bridge, accounting for nearly 17% of global foreign direct investment in 2023, positioning it—and Hong Kong—as pivotal cross-border hubs This delicate balancing act—between stability and innovation, compliance and competitiveness—defines how Huen leads. She sees public confidence and private growth as mutually reinforcing outcomes of institutional trust. Behind the scenes transformation Much of Standard Chartered’s operational transformation under Huen has unfolded outside public view. But it is no less foundational. “People see the front-end service, but what they do not see is the operational alignment across 50 markets,” she said. Her focus on integrated processes, regulatory discipline and cross-market coordination is part of a broader drive to make the organisation function as one. “You have to make the invisible visible to your teams, so they understand why internal alignment matters.” This commitment to operational integrity is not just about efficiency—it is about culture. Huen wants every employee, regardless of location or function, to feel accountable to the same standards and sense of purpose. Quiet leadership moments Leadership is often romanticised in public speeches and milestones. But for Huen, the defining moments are quieter and more introspective. One such turning point was the decision to launch Mox, the bank’s virtual bank. “One of the difficult but most rewarding decisions I made was committing to launch Mox,” she said. Mox was built on cloud-native architecture and modern tech stacks (Thought Machine, AWS), onboarding 35,000 customers in its first month and growing to almost 400,000 within two years. What made it difficult was not the technical risk, but the cultural leap. “It required belief more than anything else. Belief in a different way of doing things. Belief in the team.” These behind-the-scenes calls—whom to empower, when to pivot—are what she considers real leadership. These moments are energising because they affirm her deepest commitment: to create space for others to step up. It is in these less-visible actions that the future of the institution is often shaped. Geopolitics, digital finance and cross-border challenges Huen’s tenure has coincided with growing geopolitical complexity, regulatory fragmentation and accelerating technological disruption. Navigating these forces requires not just foresight but fortitude. “There is fragmentation. Rules do not align across borders anymore,” she observed. Standard Chartered’s cross-border business model makes it particularly exposed to such frictions. Yet Huen has kept the bank competitive by anchoring it in consistent values. Even in digital innovation, she warns against the trap of trend-chasing. “We have been involved in various pilots, but we need to ensure it’s not innovation for innovation’s sake.” Her leadership through this complexity focuses on trust—internally and externally. Empowering teams to act decisively while upholding the bank’s principles has become more critical than ever. The enduring leadership legacy Asked what legacy she hopes to leave, Huen replied without hesitation: “I am not here to preserve the past. I’m here to make sure the future is better.” Legacy, to her, is not a monument—it is momentum. She sees herself as a custodian, entrusted with a 165-year heritage and charged with extending it. “The goal is to hand it over stronger than before.” For her, that strength comes not from headlines, but from leaders she has helped shape, and a culture she has helped evolve. Her enduring legacy is not a fixed endpoint but a dynamic continuum: a leadership culture embedded in trust, shaped by values, and passed on through generations. In doing so, she redefines what it means to lead—not simply to direct, but to develop. And that, ultimately, is what energises her most. Not the accolades, but the chance to shape others—to inspire, to open doors, and to leave the bank and the broader financial community more resilient and ready than she found them.
