OneConnect scoops 3 accolades at SFA Singapore FinTech Awards
SINGAPORE, 27 September 2019 – OneConnect Financial Technology Co. Ltd. (OneConnect), an associate company of China’s insurance giant and Fortune Top 29 Company Ping An Group, bagged three accolades at the inaugural SFA Singapore FinTech Awards and Gala Dinner held at Capitol Theatre last evening. The awards – FinTech Employer of the Year, Top 5 Women in FinTech and Top 50 Asia FinTech Leaders – recognise OneConnect’s culture and leadership in building an international company that embraces diversity and respect.
Recognised as a “FinTech Employer of the Year”, OneConnect places great emphasis on its people strategy. Though barely a year old since opening its regional headquarters in Singapore last November, OneConnect is committed to building a sustainable company with an international culture that promotes people development, collaboration and diversity.
The company believes in a diversified workforce and hiring local people to do local work. It currently employs 180 staff across Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The team is made up of 60% millennials, 48% women and members from more than 15 nationalities. Even at its leadership level, 45% are helmed by females. In Singapore, the company has a strong Singaporean core of 70% local workforce.
One of its people strategy centres around collaboration. Its sprawling pantry boasts a panoramic view of the city, port and Sentosa island, and is complete with snacks and beverages including a beer tap, as well as recreational facilities like ping pong table and video games. Employees are also encouraged to stay healthy and spend quality time with their families. Recently, employees were treated to rejuvenating meditation sessions, fun-filled bowling games and a team-bonding trip to Universal Studios Singapore.
Its talent strategy supports job redesign, job expansion and on-the-job training. The company works with NTUC’s e2i, Singapore FinTech Association and local universities to build talent pipeline and groom the next generation for the digital economy. It sets up Ping An Academy and partners with Singapore Institute of Management to conduct fintech certification courses on financial technologies, artificial intelligence and blockchain. The courses enable students and employees to be equipped with knowledge on the latest technologies and relevant skillsets to meet the changing needs in the digital landscape. Students who complete a course will be considered for internships or full-time job opportunities at OneConnect, eventually helping them to move into fintech industry.
Several employees have benefitted from its job redesign and job expansion programmes. One of them is Ms Xu Yanru who joined the company as Business Analyst handling product analysis and roadmap design within a product team. She later expressed interest to broaden her skillsets by taking on a customer-facing role. After six months into her new role as a Presales Director in Business Development, she said: “I had the opportunity to be at OneConnect’s booth showcasing our fintech solutions at an exhibition. As I was enjoying the conversations with the customers, I realised that OneConnect has a suite of very advanced and relevant technologies built for financial services players. For example, it has facial recognition, voiceprint recognition, smart lending, supply chain financing, AI-enabled micro-expression and insurtech, as well as core banking related products that put us at the forefront of fintech space. I am glad that the management at OneConnect supported my move to do business development. It allows me to plug the right solutions for different financial industry players to brave the digital economy.”
Celebrated for balancing business achievements and leading with authenticity and empathy, CEO of OneConnect Financial Technology, Ms Tan Bin Ru bagged “Top 5 Women in FinTech” and “Top 50 Asia FinTech Leaders” awards at the presentation ceremony. With over 20 years of experience driving successful Southeast Asia strategies and operations at Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and startups, Bin Ru is an advocator of international work culture. Under her leadership, OneConnect has made remarkable progress inking maiden deals with leading FIs in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Japan and Abu Dhabi that will deepen and widen its foray in the region.
CEO, OneConnect Financial Technology, Ms Tan Bin Ru receiving “Top 5 Women in FinTech” award from Mr Patrick Tay, Assistant Secretary General, National Trades Union Congress at the inaugural SFA Singapore FinTech Awards & Gala Dinner at Capitol Theatre on 26 September.
Speaking at the ceremony on her twofold awards sweep, Bin Ru who oversees OneConnect’s expansion across Southeast Asia said: “I am pleased that OneConnect is in the league of promising fintech employers, and I’m honoured to be recognised as one of the inspiring fintech leaders. The three awards are dedicated to my Leadership Team who has taken a big leap of faith to join the company when there were only 10 employees at its inception, and all OneConnect employees who always give their best at work.”
Elaborating on her leadership style, she said: “I believe a good balance of empathy, influence and assertiveness is important to achieve speed and impact. I like to lead with authenticity. My daily conversations at work and outside of work are the same. As a CEO who has to be results-driven, my openness allows employees and business partners to be at ease and engage with me. They instinctively know that they have access to me. Trust cannot be forced – it needs to be fostered.”
“During my early days leading operations at a multi-national technology company, I was put into a people manager role to lead about 400 people. I was fortunate to have a woman mentor who showed me the way to lead with empathy. During times of change and reorganisation, it is not about whether the policies were implemented correctly; it is about whether the people impacted – even if it is just one person – was treated with humanity and respect. Today, in my leadership role, I pay that forward by championing for women in technology and fintech, and rallying for projects that empower women in emerging markets,” she continued.
Organised by the Singapore FinTech Association, this year’s first edition of SFA Awards shines spotlight on industry leaders who have made an impact in the financial technology sector. The awards ceremony was graced by Guest of Honour Mr Ng Chee Meng, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress.
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ONECONNECT FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY
OneConnect, a leading technology-as-a-service platform for financial institutions, is an associate company of the Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.
The Company integrates extensive financial services industry expertise with market-leading technology to provide technology applications and technology-enabled business services to financial institutions. These solutions enable our customers’ digital transformations, which help them increase revenue, manage risks, improve efficiency, enhance service quality and reduce costs.
OneConnect provides technology applications and technology-enabled business services to multiple verticals in the financial services industry, including banking, insurance and asset management. The Company now has 12 technology solutions across the full scope of their businesses—from sales and marketing and risk management to customer services and operations, as well as technology infrastructure such as data management, program development, and cloud services.
For more information, please visit www.oneconnectft.com.sg
PING AN
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (“Ping An”) is a world-leading technology-powered personal financial services group. With 182 million customers and 513 million Internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world.
Ping An has two over-arching strategies ‘pan financial assets’ and ‘pan healthcare’, which focus on the provision of financial and healthcare services through our integrated financial services platform and our five ecosystems in financial services, healthcare, auto services, real estate services and Smart City services. Our aim is to provide customers and internet users with innovative and simple products and services. As China’s first joint stock insurance company, Ping An Group is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate reporting and corporate governance. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Ping An ranked 7th in Forbes’ 2019 Global 2000, and it ranked 29th in Fortune Magazine’s 2018 Global 500 Leading Companies. Ping An also ranked 40th in 2019 WPP Milward Brown’s BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands. For more information, please visit www.pingan.cn
FOR QUERIES OR TO ARRANGE FOR AN INTERVIEW, CONTACT:
Alicia Neo
Public Relations Manager
OneConnect Financial Technology
mobile +65 8200 0022
alicianeo@pingan.com.cn
