Co-hosted by:
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
The Belgian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
The Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
The Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao
The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

About the Event:
A panel discussion about embedding Diversity & Inclusion in your company the right way. Speakers will talk about D&I in the broader sense (i.e. including religion and disability) and how “unconscious bias” can easily set in due to cultural differences between individuals. We will hear from various perspectives, business and personal, how D&I is not only the right thing to do but also makes business sense.

About the Panelists:

Mr. Peter Sargant
Executive Director, Group Employee Banking, Corporate Partnerships, Retail Banking, at Standard Chartered Bank

Peter is a member of the Bank’s D&I Council in Hong Kong and also represents the Bank on the Hong Kong D&I Inter-Bank Forum. He will focus on diversity challenges and the risk of not embedding it right.
Peter has worked within the Consumer, Wholesale and Investment Banking industry for over 20 years. He was educated and grew up in the United Kingdom and relocated to Hong Kong in 1997. During his career, Peter has work extensively in the Retail Industry and Securities Services Industry; with roles in Operations, Network Management, Sales and Relationship Management.

In his current position, Peter is a Director of Standard Chartered Bank’s Cash Management and Securities business for the Investors and Intermediaries segment; which covers the Insurance, Fund Managers, Banks and Broker Dealer client segments. Peter is responsible for a select group of the Bank’s leading international clients within this segment, working across multiple markets and with a very diverse group of people and cultures.

Additionally, Peter is a keen supporter of local corporate and social responsibility initiatives and was one of the original trainers for Standard Chartered Banks’ Living with HIV pier education and training programmes. Peter has held various board positions with local non-profit organizations and has significant experience managing fundraising and identifying opportunities for organizational development within the non-profit sector. 

Fern Ngai
Chief Executive Officer at Community Business Limited

Fern is Chief Executive Officer of Community Business, a Hong Kong based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing responsible and inclusive business practices. With over a decade of harnessing the power of business to drive social change, Community Business has an established reputation as a thought leader and trusted partner in corporate social responsibility and diversity and inclusion in Asia. Community Business conducts pioneering research, facilitates networks and events, leads campaigns and provides training and consultancy.  
 
Fern joined Community Business 5 years ago and under her leadership, the organisation has expanded its products and services, established a subsidiary in India, and has launched the ground-breaking Hong Kong LGBT+ Inclusion Index and annual Awards.  Fern is a Steering Committee member of the 30% Club Hong Kong which believes in collaborative, concerted business-led efforts to help accelerate progress towards gender parity on Hong Kong corporate boards.  She is also a finalist in the 2017 Telstra  Business Woman in Asia Award.
 
Originally from Canada, Fern has 40 years of broad experience in financial services, technology, change management, and in workplace diversity and community programmes. She held leadership roles in the human resources, technology and operations, governance, and corporate affairs functions at Standard Chartered Bank and was its first diversity and inclusion champion for Hong Kong. She volunteers as a board director of KELY Support Group, a Hong Kong charity dedicated to supporting young people.

Wijnand van Hoeven
Head Human Resources at ABN AMRO Bank

Wijnand is Head of Human Resources of ABN AMRO Corporate & Institutional Bank Greater China.. Wijnand has worked  in Human Resources globally across various industries; banking, insurance, hospitality and food retail. His is previous employers include, the Kurhaus Hotel, AXA Insurance, Royal Ahold, New York Life Insurance and Prudential Insurance. His expertise areas are HR & Talent Management, Talent & Executive Development, Coaching, Graduate Recruitment, D&I and Training & Career Transition Management. Wijnand holds a Bachelor in Human Resources of Fontys University of Applied Sciences, a post Academic Qualification Business Administration of PAO (Post Academische Opleidingen) and is an  Executive Human Resources Alumni of the University of Michigan USA, the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Wijnand is passionate about professional development and became a Certified Job & Career Transition Coach in 2015 and is also a certified Hogan Leadership Assessor.
Within Asia/Greater China, Wijnand is committed to add value with his HR team to the growth of Corporate & Institutional Banking, by recruiting, selecting, developing the best class Talent in the industry. He strongly beliefs that only through a professional diverse team of dedicated specialists and leaders ABN AMRO is able to provide the best client experience.

Diane Boogaard
Chief Executive Officer Asia at Rabobank

Diane Boogaard is Rabobank’s Chief Executive Officer, Asia. Based in Hong Kong since the 1st of September 2017, she is responsible for managing Rabobank’s operations and activities in Asia. She combines this role with the General Manager’s role for the Rabobank Hong Kong Branch. Ms. Diane Boogaard has an extensive career in banking and commodity trade finance.  She joined Rabobank in 2006 as the Global Head of Trade and Commodity Finance for Rabobank. In 2014, she was appointed to Global Head Wholesale Product Clients, responsible for all specialised wholesale activities and financial markets within Rabobank. Before joining Rabobank, she worked at MeesPierson and Fortis (now ABNAMRO)  for over 20 years. From 1995 till 1998 she worked in Singapore as General Manager, Fortis. From 1998 till 2014, she was the Global Head Trade and Commodity Finance (8 years with Fortis and 8 years with Rabobank).

About the Moderator:

Ruud Sommerhalder
Asia Insurance Leader at PwC

Ruud relocated to Hong Kong in September 2017 as the leader for PwC‘s Asia insurance practice. Additionally, Ruud is also the lead relationship partner for a global European insurance company operating across the Asia region. Before moving to Hong Kong, Ruud held similar leadership roles for PwC on major European insurers in Germany and  in The Netherlands. Ruud started his career as an academic teaching international and European taxation in 1989 at the Erasmus University and did a PhD. In 1995 Ruud worked in Rome for the law firm Studio Fantozzi and joined PwC in 1997. Between 2002 and 2005 Ruud was with PwC in NY focusing on Dutch listed Multinationals and US Multinationals with investments in Europe and the US. While being in Amsterdam between 2005 and 2014 Ruud was leading a cross industry group focusing on listed Multinationals.
Ruud has consulted with his clients in Europe and Hong Kong to discuss best practices of diversity and inclusion, turning diversity from a challenge into a business opportunity. 

Venue Sponsor:

Please contact us at events1@cancham.org for more info