FWA thanks GIC for the kind sponsorship of venue and F&B.

Hear from senior leaders in the asset management industry discuss the topic on managing people talent.  FWA welcomes Jonathan McBride, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion BlackRock, who previously served as Director of the Presidential Personnel Office in the Obama Administration.  Joining him, Deborah Ho, Head of South East Asia, BlackRock, and Deanna Ong, Chief People Officer at GIC.  This event will be moderated by Keeran J Mane, FWA Executive Committee member. 

Agenda: 

• 11:45am – 12:15pm: Lunch and Networking
• 12:15pm – 12:45pm: Conversation with Jonathan McBride 
• 12:45pm – 1:30pm: Panel Discussion with Jonathan McBride, Deborah Ho, Deanna Ong and Keeran J Mane

SPEAKER PROFILES

Jonathan McBride

Managing Director and Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, BlackRock

Prior to joining BlackRock, Jonathan served as Director of the Presidential Personnel Office in the White House, a role he was appointed to in July 2013. He joined the administration as a Special Assistant to the President and the Deputy Director of the Presidential Personnel Office in August 2009. In February 2012, he was promoted to be a Deputy Assistant to the President. 

Prior to serving in the White House, Jonathan was the Chief Strategy Officer with Universum, a global Employer Branding company. In 2000, Jonathan co-founded Jungle Media Group. Jungle’s magazines, websites, and live events served a variety of audiences including MBAs, college students, African American young professionals, and Hispanic young professionals. Jonathan also worked for Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2000 and U.S. Senator Herb Kohl from 1992 to 1995.

Deborah Ho
Head of South East Asia, BlackRock

Deborah was appointed as Head of South-East Asia in March 2018. Prior to joining BlackRock, she was Managing Director and Co-Head of Senior Relationship Management in Asia Pacific at Barclays Bank PLC.

Deborah has over 25 years of experience in financial institutions in Asia and New York. Prior to joining Barclays, she was Chief Executive Officer of DBS Asset Management in Singapore. Before that, Deborah was at UBS where she was responsible for building the Fixed Income Distribution business in Non-Japan Asia, and at JP Morgan, where she was Head of Fixed Income Distribution for Greater China and Southeast Asia. Earlier in her career she worked at Credit Suisse and Citibank.

Deborah was conferred the designation of IBF Fellow (fellow of The Institute of Banking and Finance) in 2014 for her contribution to the financial services sector in Singapore. She was named as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Asset Management in Asia Pacific by Asian Investor Magazine in 2011. Deborah actively champions the advancement of women in leadership.

Deborah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Washington.

Deanna Ong

Chief People Officer, GIC

Deanna was appointed Chief People Officer in April 2017 to oversee human capital strategy, talent management, leadership and organization development in GIC. She has been responsible for Human Resource & Organization and Corporate Governance since 2012. 

Deanna was Director Finance from 2009 to 2014, during which she headed the Finance Group responsible for financial management across GIC’s portfolio. 

Prior to joining GIC in 1994, she was a tax accountant with Arthur Andersen. Ms Ong is currently a board member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. Deanna holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, and has completed the Stanford Executive Program.

MODERATOR

Keeran J Mane

Executive Committee Member, FWA

Keeran has been in the financial services industry for over 20 years. Since 2017, Keeran has been actively contributing to the Financial Women’s Association of Singapore (FWA).

In her most recent corporate role, Keeran was Executive Director, South East Asia Institutional Distribution at Investec Asset Management, Prior to Investec, Keeran held senior sales and client relationship management roles at Credit Suisse Asset Management, Deutsche Asset Management and other global institutions. Her career has spanned New York, Frankfurt, London and Singapore where she had the opportunity to experience different corporate and social cultures across these cities, as a professional woman in finance.

Keeran grew up in Singapore, holds a BSc Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science, and is married with two sons.