OCBC announced on Tuesday (Feb 27) its plan to set up a division named Group Strategy, Innovation and Sustainability, under the bank’s slate of moves to solidify its strategic focus and generate future growth.
The new division will be headed by Elaine Heng, 48, and currently the chief executive of retail business and deputy group CEO at Singapore’s FairPrice Group.
Before her stint with the FairPrice Group, she spent nearly 20 years in banking, 15 of them at Standard Chartered Bank.
OCBC noted Heng’s solid track record in spearheading innovative practices and business transformation to drive growth in a disruptive environment.
The appointment takes effect on Apr 22, the same day the new unit begins its operations.
The creation of the division follows OCBC’s addition of a chief sustainability officer (CSO) role last August, in a move to accelerate the group’s sustainability efforts.
Heng is expected to work closely with CSO Mike Ng to help the bank identify and capture opportunities in emerging business trends, in addition to focusing on sustainability.
Helen Wong, OCBC’s group CEO, said: “The new unit will add value by helping to future-proof our businesses, bring to fruition cutting-edge business ideas and models across the group, and identify and develop new business growth engines.”
She is confident that Heng’s “keen sense of business challenges and realities, as well as her forward-looking mindset and strategic acumen, will complement the innovative culture at OCBC”.
Before the announcement, the shares of OCBC closed on Tuesday at S$13.31, down S$0.02 or 0.2 per cent.
