The Straits Times Blogs - Gabriel Chen

In search of a new CEO

2009-08-21T11:55:00Z

Gabriel Chen wonders if DBS Bank will take a chance with Peter Seah

MUCH has been said about who will next helm Singapore's largest local bank. The rumours have surfaced and the speculations have made its rounds in corporate Singapore.

Almost every discussion about who the new DBS CEO will be has involved two names: ex-Standard Chartered Bank banker Mike DeNoma and Fullerton Financial Holdings chief executive Francis Rozario.

The two man, both in their 50s, are familiar with corporate, retail and investment banking. They were both tipped for the position after former CEO Jackson Tai stepped down, but then the late Richard Stanley got the nod instead.

It is unlikely that both men, while extremely qualified bankers in their own right, will be taking up the much-watched seat, however.

Sources have pointed out Mr DeNoma is not exactly considered a "top choice" by the board at this point in time, while Mr Rozario is likely to stay on at Fullerton.

There have been other names mentioned as well, such as Mr Piyush Gupta, who heads South-east Asia and the Pacific region for Citigroup.

Close colleagues of Mr Gupta's believe that he is unlikely to leave — despite the departure of Mr Ajay Banga, the former head of Citigroup's Asia-Pacific operations. Mr Banga left the US bank to take the number-two job at Mastercard. Mr Gupta and Mr Banga enjoyed a "good working relationship", a banker said.

Another name has now surfaced: Mr Peter Seah, now in his early 60s. The ex-Overseas Union Bank (OUB) banker is still very much "in the know" in the business scene.

He serves on many boards including that of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Siam Commercial Bank and Bank of China.

According to sources, there has been some "pressure" on DBS chairman Koh Boon Hwee to find a new CEO soon.

Mr Koh is the interim CEO, but this "cannot be a solution for the long run", they argue. In any case, Mr Koh recently reiterated that he has no intention of taking up the post himself.

At a results briefing this month, Mr Koh said: "Our CEO search is progressing well, but for now you're stuck with me." And then he later added: "Why would you want to be CEO when you can be the chairman?"

So, what does Mr Seah bring to the table?

Certainly he is very qualified and one of Singapore's most respected bankers. Politically too, he represents a "good choice", a source said.

He was formerly OUB's CEO, but left and opted for "early retirement" from OUB about eight years ago, following the takeover by United Overseas Bank.

Bankers who have worked with Mr Seah, an ex-Citi banker, say that he is "serious man", and extremely passionate about his job and whatever he sets out to achieve.

They remember that he broke down and wept openly at OUB's last shareholder meeting during the whole takeover saga. This was a bank that he built up to become one of Asean's biggest.

But will Mr Seah say "yes"? Well, it partly depends on what his role is. Does Mr Koh want him to be CEO or to take on a "caretaker role" until a suitable candidate is found? It remains to be seen.

In fact, some industry watchers have pointed out that it is interesting that Mr Seah is being approached.

They recall that even before former DBS CEO Philippe Paillart left, there were rumours of Mr Seah being mentioned as the likely candidate to replace Mr Paillart.

At that time, Mr Seah was reported as declining to comment on the matter as he "had not heard of the market talk".

Certainly, there are many questions to be asked. Still, even as the bank goes about its business, it remains to be seen how its courtship of Mr Seah will eventually pan out.

Lessons I learnt from layoffs

2008-12-09T13:08:00Z

Gabriel Chen tells the human story behind all the recent job cuts.

FORMER United States president Harry Truman once said: “It’s a recession when your neighbour loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.”

Well, I haven’t lost my job yet, but when I look at how my friends who’ve lost theirs are dealing with their emptiness, I would like to tell them not to give up.

First, it’s easy to get depressed. Their income, their self-worth, their sense of disposition all shattered.

Of course, there are ways to mitigate the uncontrollable, like making sure there is going to be enough money if income is lost or learning to plan so that your family can cope during these trying times.

But think rationally. There’ll be sadness and maybe a huge myraid of emotions tossed into the depressing unemployment picture, but the prospect of change can be eye-opening too.

I’ve changed during the financial crisis.

I used to think writing about job cuts was like flashing out a series of numbers, no responsibility on my part.

But I was very wrong.

In fact, job cuts concern real lives, emotions, people – things you can’t fudge and trivialise.

I learned it the hard way. I remembered a story I wrote sometime ago about how one bank was trimming jobs here.

I said this lady – and I mentioned her full name – was axed from this certain bank. She wrote in to complain, saying that she wasn’t asked to go, but rather, she “had in fact resigned to embark on a change for personal reasons”.

So there, I was careless, flippant and bit too cocky, and I should have been more careful.

I made a bad mistake, learned about layoffs in a hard way, and for me, that was a lesson in itself. I had to change or face the prospect of my writer’s reputation going down the drain.

One of my friends, an ex-banker, pulled in a seven-figure sum last year, dealing with complicated investment products.

Today, he is earning zilch. He spends his time doing “nothing” and doesn’t see the point in finding a job at the moment.

Mark, not his real name, explains: “There’re 200 applicants for one opening, and it’s very competitive, especially when what you were doing in the past was very specific. The industry will change with time, so I’ll wait as well.”

Mark is quite right, you know, because the financial industry will evolve.

I talked to several bankers selling those toxic structured products that made its way to the retail market.

Banker John Tan, not his real name, 30, told me that he sold Lehman Minibonds last year.

That helped him earn about $7,000 a month, including commissions. Today, he is stuck with just his basic monthly pay of $3,000 and has been switched to do work like data trending and documentation.

“It’s different from what I did but I’ve no choice,” he tells me with a sigh. “I can quit, but where can I go? Every industry is down.”

Personal banker Alvin Lee, 27, is also trying to adjust his lifestyle during these “worrisome times”. He too is making an effort to change his lifstyle, whether he fancies it or not.

He was hitting about $1 million to $3 million worth of sales of structured products every quarter a year ago. This means that every quarter, he reaped about $15,000 to $30,000 in commissions alone.

He splashed a big portion of that on clothes and steaks at Lawry’s Restaurant.

“Today, anything goes,” he said. He works at a foreign bank, selling investment products, but his overall remuneration package has fallen by about 25 per cent.

“I’m trying to save,” he says wistfully.

Then there is Sharon, 28, a relationship manager who has since switched to selling general insurance and currencies to customers of her bank.

This is a far cry from the boom times during the middle of last year where equity-linked notes, a kind of structured product, comprised 80 per cent of her monthly sales.

I spoke to Mark yesterday. “My family is more worried than I am about myself. They belong to the old school and are not used to me doing nothing,” he concedes.

Mark now sees his family about 15 hours a day, compared with eight hours a day during those long arduous days he put in at his workplace last year. That, in itself, is an adjustment for him.

So what now, you say. Indeed, now is the time, that time of change. You might still have a job, but be prepared for a lot of changes down the road. This is a time where you have to step away from your comfort zone.

Downsizing and pink slips may be household names now, and sure, it may not be easy to deal with job losses, but don’t despair as there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.

The future is a construct that is shaped in the present, and that is why to be responsible in the present is the only way of taking serious responsibility for the future.

Keep saving, be prudent, and don’t fear the unknown.

The world will continue, and whether we know it or not, we are deciding its course every day.

Sometimes, in the midst of change, one’s character is stretched, and it can be quite painful.

Don’t be afraid to help others, if you can.

Remember, all it takes is an inspiring word of encouragement from one friend to another to make someone’s day.

Walking on egg shells

2008-10-09T10:08:00Z

Gabriel Chen gauges the sentiment among local businessmen.

THE mood among small businesses at a seminar held by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) today was anything but bubbly.

Sure, nobody was lamenting how they had lost his or her job, while there were no real gripes about stockmarket’s plunges in recent weeks.

But contrast this with the champagne-popping feel-good sentiment felt among businessmen at the array of lunch meetings and seminars I’ve attended earlier this year, and the differences are very stark.

Conversation I was privy to on the sidelines of the SBF seminar centered on the weakness of the local economy and about whether the outlook would be better next year.

Most of the businessmen I spoke to were not sanguine.

Gone were buzzwords like "capital expansion" and "ramping up supply". Instead, the nuggets of advice thrown out yesterday involved remarks like "expense-cutting to cope with hard times" and "efficiency management to drive costs down".

"My greatest fear is my customers will stop spending," said PASR commercial director Max Collins, when asked for his thoughts about the growth forecast that the economist-speakers had given about the Singapore economy.

"If times are bad, my customers wouldn’t upgrade their PCs and their softwares," Mr Collins tells you about his Singapore clients his information technology firm services.

CIMB-GK Research economist Song Seng Wun, for example, was predicting that in the worst case scenario, GDP growth for Singapore next year could be anything from negative three per cent to negative five per cent.

"A wave of bank failures. More to go?" asked OCBC Bank economist Selena Ling rhetorically.

She was another speaker who said Singapore is facing growing headwinds. But the Integrated Resort coming up should provide "some upside" too, she assured the audience.

The seminar, organised by the business chamber to give small businesses an outlook about the economy, drew around 100 senior and middle management staff.

"The slowdown is worrying," said Singapore Noble Electronics’ director Gan Giap Leong, who was present yesterday.

"The electronics (sector) has been feeling the heat for the last year, so if there’s a downturn, the situation will get a lot worse."

He expects some of his customers to revise their purchase forecast downwards pretty soon. The firm manufactures electronics components for the likes of Sony and Philips.

Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation president Renny Yeo said his member companies can still borrow from banks.

But with banks overseas said to be unwilling to lend due to the credit crunch and the absence of confidence in the marketplace, Mr Yeo hopes banks in Singapore will not tighten the supply of cash to financially-sound firms here.

"Most of the companies already have facilities in place, but come next year, when it’s time to renew them, we hope that banks will oblige," he said.

"Remember," he pauses for effect as he looks at you intently. "If banks take away the umbrella or keep it to themselves, then our member-firms might have a hard time."

Judging from yesterday’s events, Singapore businesses are indeed bracing themselves for a slower economy and preparing themselves for harder times.