"When I joined the Hang Seng Bank, I was the only female director and the first female CEO for the bank. By the time I retired, I had five female directors on the board. So Charles, watch out!" Margaret Leung Ko May-yee, newly appointed director of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, told an audience at an event designed to attract female talents. Among those in the audience was the bourse's Chairman Charles Li.

Appointed by the government to sit at board of the local bourse in April, Leung is a legend in Hong Kong's business circles. Born into a local doctor's family, Leung, the youngest daughter, thrived in the male-dominated world of banking. Starting as an intern, Leung became group general manager and global co-director of commercial banking for HSBC in 2005 - the first female tai pan at the 140-year-old bank. In 2009, she joined Hang Seng Bank as vice-chairman and CEO - the first female leader of the organization. Now she is with the HKEx, breaking another boy's club tradition.

"Taking on a challenge is in my blood," Leung said. "There is a character inside me, who loves to try new roles, new environments and to learn new things. During the 30 years of my career, I never have turned down any offer presenting a new challenge."

The most challenging time she had was when she landed her post at Hang Seng Bank. After serving a lot of different roles at HSBC, Leung found the top job at Hang Seng Bank very much different. As a CEO, she needed to keep watch on the entire business instead of just one or two sectors. "That's the most challenging part," Leung said. "Sometimes a move in one sector would affect the others. It was my job to consider the inter linkage and inter relationship to make decisions." At the same time, Leung was also chairman of the bank's China business. She travelled to the mainland frequently, building up relations and creating new business under a different regulatory system. Hang Seng Bank is still a very much local operation - most of the customers are Chinese, the corporate communication language is Chinese and many of the banks files are in Chinese. Above all, "there used to be no media or government or investor relationship for me to deal with," Leung said. "I never imagined, after so many years in banking, there were still tons of new things to learn in a short period."

Throwing herself into opportunities as well as the uncertainties, Leung said, "There is never a task that I think I can't manage. I never think about it. I believe I am capable of learning everything, if I work hard at it. That can apply to everyone." Having little knowledge about the Hong Kong stock exchange, part of her duty now is to face the media. She was presented with a pillow sized book - about the history of the city's stock and futures market, which was inaugurated in 1865. "I'm happy to have it. Without the pressure, I may leave the book on the shelf for 10 years. But now, I'm motivated to remember everything from cover to cover."

Why did Leung leave HSBC in the first place, given she was happy and successful in the multinational bank? Leung said when she was hesitating about the offer at Hang Seng Bank, a "very senior banker" - her mentor - gave her some advice. "He said you should go, because at HSBC you can never climb to the top, where your decisions affect every cell of the organization. Neither would you get the chance to interact with authorities and other banks or run a public company," Leung recalled the man telling here. "It was because of his advice that I considered Hang Seng Bank a higher platform to explore.

"Mentorship is very important to career development," she said. "No matter how capable one is, he can't know everything. We see only what we can see. But advisors can cast light on certain aspects we never thought about and can lead to a new direction."

She met with her mentor for breakfast and lunch more than 10 years ago. "He helped me to be more focused. He also advised me how to achieve better results, to see whether there were other angles. A lot of questions were asked, which I had never thought about before," Leung said. "He helped me to know myself better. The most important thing is to find your strong suit. No one is perfect. The key is to help your strengths prevail over your weakness."

"Besides, when the company assigns you a mentor, it shows you are a valuable asset," Leung added. "Apart from that, the company also sponsored me for a course in France. To learn that you have a promising career is a very strong stimulus. All the elements combined led to my success."

Not every employee is fortunate enough to have a superior who appreciates his talents. Nor does everyone get an equal chance to acquire a mentor, especially one appointed by the company. "If you are lucky enough to meet one, make good use of it to achieve greater success," Leung said, adding one doesn't have to find an official mentor to learn from. "I see countless people as my teacher. From people I admire, I learn their strength. From others, I see their weakness and make sure that doesn't appear on me. Every chance is a chance for learning - depends on how you handle it."

(HK Edition 07/05/2013 page4)