VISIBLE

At Amy Yip’s Tai Hang flat, adorned with gorgeous Chinese antiques and artwork, I explored how a little girl from Xiamen, a fishing port in China, became the gentle yet confident powerhouse she is today.

Yip’s bio is impressive. Among many achievements, she holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and was the first woman to have a seat on the dealing floor at J.P. Morgan, Hong Kong. She had a 40-year high profile banking career. She held senior roles within the Monetary Authority from 1996 to 2006 and then was CEO of DBS Bank, Hong Kong, until her official retirement in 2010. After “retirement”, she co-founded a private investment partnership and sits on several corporate boards. Now, at 70, she has decided to pursue her Master of Counselling from Monash University to help others and “stay relevant”.

When asked, “Who are you?” She pauses, tilts her head, gives me a coy smile and responds, “I’m an energetic troublemaker.”

Yip’s main inspiration was her mother, Yu Yuk, whose life started out easy thanks to family success from their fishing boat fleets and a winery. Yuk, who was not very literate but fiesty, stopped going to school at age eight because she “didn’t want to.” Through her own strength and resilience, Yip’s mother “made the family and their life.” She taught Yip to try to marry well but no matter what, remain independent and self-reliant.

One of Yip’s early goals was to marry by age 40, mainly to get her traditionally minded family off her back. “I believed it was better to get married and divorced rather than have the stigma of being an old maid,” she explained. Yip met a man, married him and gave it her all for three years. “It was transactional, it didn’t work and eventually it couldn’t be reconciled.” During the divorce, Yip’s attorney insisted she see a counsellor. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she recalled. What emerged was her ability to free herself from the pressure of society. “Life is not what it should be, it’s what you can do. Yes, it’s great to have a soulmate, but you must find yourself first. If you don’t like yourself, how can you expect anyone else to like you? If you are constantly denigrating yourself, how can you get respect?”

One of the most difficult times in Yip’s life was the period pre- and post- retirement from DBS Bank. The Lehman Brothers collapse happened in 2008 and as CEO of DBS Bank Hong Kong, Yip was immersed in the banking crisis for two and a half years. After testifying to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council in 2010 about DBS’ sales of Lehman Brothers-related minibonds, she and her colleagues were met outside by a crowd of fearful investors who surrounded and shook their van in anger. It was time to leave the corporate world. Yip had been preparing for retirement for several years but for the next six months, she felt lost. “Through every stumbling block I’ve encountered, I’ve always managed to get through it and emerge at a higher level,” says Yip. She began by exploring opportunities, reaching out to her network and over the next four years took on several independent directorships, set up an asset management business, and became Chairwoman of the Vita Green Charitable Foundation. “I used to carry guilt because I’ve been relatively lucky in life – I’ve never been down and out. I stopped feeling guilty and looked to see how I can contribute back to the community. You don’t have to sit on an NGO board to do this.” At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy and friends found a face mask supplier, packaged them individually along with other necessities and distributed them to people in need.

This year began her counselling studies. She is energised by the learning and new friends but struggled in the beginning with the wonky intranet. “I told myself I’m not giving up. If I want to stay relevant, I must get on board with the technology. I asked a friend for help and I got there.”

To advertise, email talk@hongkongliving.com or call 2776 2772.