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Changes guided by instinct

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WHEN MARIA Leung Ching-yi left the University of Hong Kong in 1987, she was sure about one thing - she had no interest in taking a job in the world of banking and finance.

But the fact that almost 20 years later she is senior vice-president and head of wealth management business, consumer clients for global banking group ABN Amro should come as no surprise.

Ms Leung's philosophy has always been that, when faced with a major decision, you should follow your instincts and never be afraid of changing direction. She also believes that it pays to always reassess your priorities, seek out new challenges and be ready to take the plunge.

On graduation, her own priority was to find a role which offered a certain amount of glamour and excitement. She accepted a position with international advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, and threw herself into learning the business. The industry was fast paced and demanded a high level of creativity, interpersonal skills and commercial acumen.

After five years there, Ms Leung sensed she was starting to mark time and after considering her options she decided to move to Citibank - not in a finance role, but as one of the marketing team promoting credit card services. Things went well and, in due course, led to the unusual step of a transfer from marketing into the retail banking side of the business.

On the part of the bank, it was both a calculated move and an experiment. No one had previously made such a move, but it was clear to them that Ms Leung's experience in sales and marketing combined with knowledge of the bank's main products would make her ideal for the role. When the possibility was raised, she had doubts but decided to trust her instincts and make the leap.

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