When William Wu, fresh out of Vancouver's Simon Fraser University and armed with a BBA and MBA, first made the rounds of the financial industry, he was offered a janitorial job. But from the moment he started work in corporate finance in 1993, it's been onwards and upwards for him. In his new position as CEO of the 250-strong workforce at OSK Holdings Hong Kong, Wu manages investment banking, equity capital market operations, and both retail and institutional sales staff, as well as servicing clients. He joined OSK from Kingsway Group, where he served as CEO and group managing director for eight years. After returning to Hong Kong in 1995, Wu worked for Salomon Brothers and Schroders, and was among the first local CFA charterholders. In 1999, he left his post with BNP to set up what is now SBI E2-Capital. He talks to John Brennan
What are your goals in your new job as chief executive officer of OSK Holdings?
I've been in this job for about three months now, and everyday I look forward to sourcing more transactions, improving the internal efficiency of this firm and expanding our revenue base. The transactions we find have to be of high quality, otherwise they won't help us on a long-term basis - and I'm not going to be working here for just six months. My aim is to develop the right team of people and the right culture. I want to develop a strong operation.
What do you particularly enjoy about your work?
I enjoy getting to know new people and understanding their character and abilities, so I can then bring out their potential. I was a basketball coach for 17-year-old kids for quite a while. As a coach I tried to bring out their potential - not just their skill but also their character. What are they going to do when people push or hit them during the game? Are they going to lose their temper? It is the same in the workplace when you are losing money, as when you are 10 or 15 points behind. How are you going to deal with the difficult situation? Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, but sometimes when you lose you learn and sometimes when you win you don't learn anything. It's the same in a basketball game as in the workplace, and I've come here as the new coach.
How has the recent global financial crash affected you?
I became CEO of Kingsway in 2006, and in 2007, we made a record profit. So then I thought, 'I'm the man.' But in 2008, I realised I didn't make a difference. We turned around the company, and in 2009 and 2010, we made money again. But it was an extremely stressful time.