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Giving Voice: Honest Conversations on Leadership, Balance, and Allyship

Registrations Closed
Asia/Singapore
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Update (3 Aug): Dear all, thank you for your keen interest in our event. Please note the event is now full and registrations have closed. If you'd like to be placed on the waitlist, please email us at events@fwasg.org. Thank you!

FWA Singapore, in partnership with Oliver Wyman, invites you to “Giving Voice: Honest Conversations on Leadership, Balance, and Allyship”, an inspiring panel discussion featuring distinguished leaders from across the financial services industry.

Through candid reflections and personal experiences, our panelists will explore what it means to lead authentically, navigate the evolving demands of career and life, and champion allyship to foster more inclusive, high-performing workplaces.

Whether you are building your career or leading teams and organizations, join us for an afternoon of insightful discussion, practical perspectives, and meaningful connections. Together, we'll discuss how purposeful leadership is shaped through everyday actions, open dialogue, and a commitment to creating opportunities for others.

Leave with fresh perspectives, actionable ideas, and new connections to help you lead with greater confidence, purpose, and impact.

A networking lunch will be provided for all successful registrants.

This exclusive event is open to FWA members only. Register early to secure your spot.

Event Agenda: 

  • 11:30am: Registration and Lunch
  • 12:30pm: Opening Address by Jessie Toh, FWA President and Mok Wen Jie, Partner, Corporate and Institutional Banking, Oliver Wyman
  • 12:35pm: Panel Kick-off
  • 1:35pm: Closing Address and Networking
  • 2:00pm: End of Event


Moderator's Bio:


Jacqueline Chua, FWA Membership Chair & Co-founder, Tessal8

Jacqueline is a multi-talented leader with deep expertise in the banking and non-profit sectors for over 25 years. She is a senior leader with over 25 years of experience in wealth management, private banking, and business development across Asia. She has held regional leadership roles in global financial institutions and previously served as CEO of a Singapore-based external asset management company.

Beyond her corporate career, she is deeply committed to advancing women, youth, and inclusive talent development. She is the Chair of Inspiring Girls Singapore, co-vice chair of the CFA Society Singapore DEI Code Working Committee. She is also a board member of Catholic Junior College and serves as in the advisory member at the Singapore Changi Prisons Home Detention. 

Today, Jacqueline is a performance coach and a co-founder of Tessal8, a skills-first career discovery platform focused on helping young people navigate meaningful career pathways in Southeast Asia. She brings a unique blend of commercial leadership, governance experience, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship to every platform she serves.

Speakers' Bio:

Ian MacDonald, CEO, Aberdeen Investments

Ian joined Aberdeen as deputy to the CEO APAC in 2013 and became CEO APAC in 2024. Ian began his career with PwC (London) before moving into investment banking roles with Lazard (London, New York and San Francisco) and then HSBC (London and Hong Kong). In 2008, the boutique equities manager, Arisaig Partners, gave him the opportunity to move to Singapore, which has been home ever since (he is now a Singapore citizen).

Ian is a Vice President of the British Chamber of Commerce (Singapore) and the former honorary secretary for the Investment Management Association of Singapore. He is also a member of Work Well Leaders and a champion for Financial Women's Association Singapore.

Ian is a qualified chartered accountant (ICAEW) and an alum of London University, IMD, Harvard Business School and INSEAD.

Ian is raising a son (11), a daughter (8) and a puppy (<1 year..).


Lavanya Chari, Head of Wealth and Premier Solutions (WPS), HSBC

Lavanya Chari is Head of Wealth and Premier Solutions at HSBC International Wealth and Premier Banking, responsible for the products, platforms and propositions behind a digitally-empowered, internationally-connected client offering — spanning Chief Investment Office, Managed Solutions, Capital Markets, Advisory, Discretionary and Sustainable Investments, Lending, Trust and Insurance, as well as retail products such as unsecured lending, mortgages and transaction banking. Based in Singapore and a member of the International Wealth and Premier Banking Executive Committee, she joined HSBC in July 2020 and went on to create a unified global products function, positioned to serve Personal Banking, Premier, High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth clients at scale.

Lavanya is passionate about sustainable investing and helping clients make investment decisions with positive environmental and social impact. She sponsors Gender Equity under the Diversity and Inclusion Forum and serves as a non-executive director at HSBC Global Asset Management. She began her career at Deutsche Bank in London, spending 14 years in Global Markets before joining the private bank in 2016 and relocating to Singapore, where she led products and solutions for Asia Pacific ahead of taking on global responsibility. She holds a BA in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.


Lim Lay Wah, Managing Director and Head of Global Financial Institutions Group, Overseas Branches and ESG Strategy, UOB

Lim Lay Wah is Managing Director and Head of Global Financial Institutions Group, Overseas Branches and ESG Strategy at UOB, which she joined in October 2014 after more than three decades in banking, including 18 years at Standard Chartered Bank and 6 years at ANZ. She leads a team of over 160 professionals across 19 locations, driving integrated cross-border solutions for global financial institutions and institutional investors while steering UOB's sustainable finance agenda — a portfolio that has grown more than 70% since FY2023. Since 2014, she has grown the Global Financial Institutions Group by over 500%, building longstanding relationships with roughly 40 of the world's top 50 Global Funds. On 1 January 2026, she was appointed Singapore's representative to the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC).

A recognised leader in the banking community, Lay Wah has represented UOB at forums including the SWIFT International Banking Operations Seminar and Asian Development Bank and World Bank events, and led UOB's inaugural sustainability conference. She has received the North Star Award for six consecutive years (2020–2025) and completed the Asian Financial Leaders Programme at Stanford University, IMD, and Tsing Hua Beijing. Beyond her career achievements, she is also a mother of four — a true example of a well-rounded career woman.


Sean Choo, Partner and Head of Retail and Business Banking, Asia Pacific, Oliver Wyman

Sean is the head of Oliver Wyman’s Asia Pacific Retail and Business Banking practice, based in Singapore.
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With 20 years of consulting experience spanning strategy, customer experience, analytics, and digital. He has worked with leading financial institutions across Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, and Australia.
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Sean holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from London Business School.

PLEASE NOTE:

Registration

Please note places are on a first-come-first-served basis so do register early! Deadline for registration is 17 August 2026. Please sign up early to avoid disappointment. We apologise that any request for places after the deadline will not be entertained. As places are limited and if you have RSVP but cannot make it, we appreciate that you cancel your registration so that we can make the place available to someone else. Cancellation details are provided below under NO SHOW POLICY. Thank you.

Members:

FWA members attend free of charge. Please login on the website before registering.

Institutional Members:

  • Diamond members - Registration at FWA member rates for up to 15 persons per Institutional Member.
  • Platinum members - Registration at FWA member rates for up to 10 persons per Institutional Member.
  • Gold members - Registration at FWA member rates for up to 5 persons per Institutional Member.

Please click 'Register Now' and register using your Institutional Codes (please check with your respective coordinators for your Institutional Code).

THIS IS A MEMBER AND INVITE ONLY EVENT. To join as a member, please follow this link. 

Event Disclaimer

By accessing, participating in, watching or listening to this event or webinar (“Event”) you agree that : any statement, information or material shared at this Event (“Information”) is solely for general informational and/or educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice; the Information has been prepared by the speakers at the Event and has not been prepared by, and is not reflective of the views of, the Financial Women’s Association (Singapore) (“FWA”); FWA does not provide any professional or financial or other advice and the use or reliance on the Information is solely at your own risk; the fact that the Information is available to you is not a recommendation or representation that any product described in the Information is suitable or appropriate for you; no endorsement of any third party featured in the Information is made; no part of the Information or at all may be construed as a solicitation, recommendation or offer to buy or sell any product or instrument; the Information is subject to change without notice and there is no obligation to maintain, correct, or update the Information; no warranty, express or implied, for the accuracy, completeness or correctness of the Information is made; and FWA will not be liable for any loss, damage and any other consequence resulting directly or indirectly from or relating to the Information or reliance on any part thereof.

No Show Policy

We understand that with busy schedules, there may be times when you cannot make an event after you have registered for it. In the event that you cannot make an event, we appreciate that you use our new tool now available to cancel the event. Cancellation is allowed up to 2 days ahead of the event date. To do so, please log in to the FWA website, under “My Account”, select “My Events”, you can cancel the event registration under the “Cancel registration” column. For members that no-show for 3 consecutive events, we regret to inform that you will be barred from attending any FWA events for the next 3 months. We hope you understand this policy as our events are often in high demand and your co-operation will allow those who can and wish to attend our events to do so. 

Event Images, Photos and Recordings Policy

Please do note that if you attend events or programmes organised, managed, administered or publicised by the FWA, by attending such events, you agree and consent to the use of your photograph, voice, likeness, and image in any broadcasts of such event and in subsequent productions drawn from video or audio recordings of such event.  The photographs and recordings may be published or broadcasted in FWA publications and in publicity materials, including FWA’s websites and social media. All recordings, articles, quotes, photographs, films, audio or video and/or any reproductions of same in any form, are the property of FWA. FWA, its affiliates, employees, representatives and agents are released from any and all claims, demands, costs and liability that may arise from the use of these interviews, recordings, photographs, videotapes or films, and/or any reproductions of same in any form, as described above, arising out of being interviewed, recorded, photographed, videotaped or filmed.  If you do not wish to have your photos/audio-visual recordings taken at such event, it is your responsibility to remove yourself from group and candid shots/recordings that the photographers/videographers intend to capture.

For enquiries, please contact events@fwasg.org