When Pam Kaur walked into her first banking job decades ago, she admits she never imagined rising to one of the most powerful roles in global finance. Today, as HSBC’s first woman chief financial officer in the bank’s 160-year history, she looks back on a career built on resilience and responsibility.
“When I started my career, I never thought I would do a role like this. It’s not because I wasn’t ambitious, but I was also realistic. When the opportunities came, I obviously embraced them,” she told
CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive conversation.
For Kaur, who took charge as CFO on January 1, 2025, the early years were far from straightforward. “There were much fewer role models from a female perspective,” she said, adding that the biggest lessons often came in tough times. “When I faced the biggest challenges, typically macro environment challenges, that’s when I learned the most. It’s that sense of responsibility and the chance to inspire others that truly motivate me.”
Her approach to leadership is shaped by unusual role models. “I always thought of leadership to be more like the real leaders of this world — the Mahatma Gandhis and the Martin Luther Kings, the leaders who rise above everything that you see around.”
She also credits modern football coaches such as Liverpool's ex-coach Jurgen Klopp for showing how to motivate and bring out the best in teams.
Kaur is equally clear-eyed about the workplace. “I’m a great believer in meritocracy, because that’s the only sustainable way to progress. But organisations have to create an environment where everybody can achieve their full potential.”
And when asked about navigating self-doubt, she offered a simple reflection: “If you’re comfortable in yourself without trying to be somebody else, that gives you the innate confidence to just bring your whole self to whatever situation you are in.”
Reflective but optimistic, Kaur summed up her journey: “Every time you go through one of those experiences, you should energise yourself and feel inspired by the things you’ve done well. But I’m always reflective of things I can do better. And if each day I do that, you just get better.”
