I had always worked with bankers — studying the executive MBA at Korea University Business School was the first time I had made friends with colleagues who did not work in finance. There were about 50 of us on the course. While most of us were from South Korea, we came from all types of industries and companies.
My classmates had a way of thinking that was quite different from mine, so the experience was very interesting. Even though I graduated from the programme four years ago, I still often contact them for their advice when I have difficulties managing my team or face big decisions.
I started my banking career in New Zealand. I had moved to Auckland in the 1990s to do a music diploma, having studied classical music in Korea, but I ended up being offered a job at HSBC. At the time, New Zealand was receiving a wave of immigrants from Korea and the bank needed someone who spoke English and Korean to explain financial products such as mortgages and credit cards.