Stephanie Ng

At a bank that wants to be “premium, modern and globally connected”, ensuring channels are aligned and marketing strategy understood is critical. HSBC’s international remit—it has, by some measures, the largest customer footprint of any global financial institution—makes the challenge even trickier. Fortunately, Stephanie Ng continues to set new standards for cutting through complexity and delivering consistent results.

A year on from overseeing HSBC’s largest rebrand in two decades, the marketing lead refused to rest on her laurels, playing a key role in a pivot towards an ‘affluent plus’ demographic that is part of a wider shift away from retail banking, particularly in Asia. Alongside the launch of new products for this market such as a Privé card for private banking clients, Ng helped mastermind a Think Wealth programme, which included a range of thought leadership touchpoints, including a C-suite video series, webinars, and a monthly newsletter.

More dramatically, flagship wealth investment summits in China and Hong Kong brought hundreds of clients together to hear world-class speakers. And the wealth focus was activated through collaborations with Condé Nast, LIV Golf in Hong Kong, and a refresh of the Home&Away rewards platform.

This targeted activity was supplemented by broader engagements such as an award-winning global campaign with Priyanka Chopra Jones that garnered 669 million Instagram views, and investments in thought leadership in subjects including retirement, entrepreneurship, and quality of life.

Behind it all, Ng drove an internal focus on ROI, introducing standardised measurement frameworks and a data-led operating scorecard to ensure marketing was able to support the bank’s ambitions. Across the year, the investment paid off with rankings for awareness, brand equity, trust and wealth management capability increasing across key markets including those in Asia.

And despite her global role, Ng continued to make her impact felt in the Asian marketing community, taking on jury roles, speaking assignments at HKU Business School and a co-chair position on the EmpowerHer mentorship programme to support emerging female leaders, exemplifying her belief that “performance and purpose aren’t trade-offs”.