Starting out as a social economic researcher for the British government, Vaughn Richtor, CEO of ING Banking Asia, moved into corporate treasury and banking, and has been in the banking and financial services sector since. Today, 30 years on, the Anglo-Indian executive is based in Singapore from where he oversees ING's banking operations across 13 markets. Richtor talks to Hilda Poon about travelling for work, his management style and dealing with uncertainty.
How essential is travel to your job?
I spend a lot of time travelling to attend board meetings. One thing we need to understand is that while we can do a lot of things via telephones and video conferencing, at the end of the day, our business is about people.
Whether it is clients or staff, I think it is important that we visit, so we don't just see our people, but also understand and feel what is happening in other countries.
People talk about Asia as if it were homogenous, but the reality is that every country is different in terms of its business environment, structure and economic state of development.
It is a misconception to think you can manage your business sitting in an ivory tower in Singapore - or wherever you happen to be. Therefore, it is important to travel.