Singapore, 29 September 2016 (Thursday) - TMS Academy, the integrated leadership development arm of Temasek Management Services (TMS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) today jointly celebrated the graduation of the pioneer batch of 40 participants from the prestigious Asian Financial Leaders Programme (AFLP). The AFLP is regarded as the flagship programme for developing Asian financial leaders.

The graduates, who come from more than 20 multinational companies, received their graduation certificates from Ms Foo Mee Har, CEO of TMS Academy and Professor Gerard George, Dean of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business at a graduation dinner held at SMU. Each graduate was presented with five certificates – from TMS-SMU, IMD, The Wharton School, Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, and Prasetiya Mulya Executive Learning Institute.

TMS and SMU were jointly awarded the mandate by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to develop the AFLP in May 2015. The programme commenced in November last year, and spanned 22 days over a ten-month period. Funded by the Financial Sector Development Fund, the AFLP aims to prepare senior-level talent in Asia’s financial sector including banking, insurance, investments and private equity, to assume regional and global leadership positions and handle the growing complexity of Asia’s financial institutions.

Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President of SMU, said, “My warmest congratulations to the pioneer batch of AFLP graduates. They are now in the excellent position to contribute even more to the success of their organisations with the new-found knowledge they have gained from some of the leading education institutions in the world, and the interactions they have had with senior executives from local and overseas financial institutions and regulatory bodies. SMU is proud to partner TMS Academy in this meaningful initiative by MAS to develop senior executives of financial institutions, and pleased that we have been able to contribute our knowledge and expertise in Asian insights to this programme. I am confident the breadth and depth of the AFLP curriculum will continue to attract high-calibre participants to this programme.”

Ms Foo Mee Har, CEO of TMS Academy, said, “TMS Academy is honoured to have jointly developed the AFLP with our partner SMU, and to celebrate the graduation of the inaugural cohort of students. I am confident that the graduating senior executives, having gone through the programme's leading edge curriculum, are well equipped with the necessary insights and knowledge of regional and global developments that impact the financial industry. They are well positioned to play a leading role in their respective organisations to navigate the transformations and disruptions that are reshaping global finance in significant ways. I would like to thank MAS and the participating financial institutions for embracing the vision of developing a core of senior Asian finance leaders and, in particular, a strong Singaporean core, amongst their corporations' top leadership. I believe that this investment in human capital will be amply rewarded.”   

The AFLP provides critical insights for senior-level executives in the financial sector to lead and grow their financial institutions. It also incorporates global and regional perspectives aimed at strengthening participants’ abilities to understand the complexities of both regional and global economic landscapes. 

Besides Singapore, participants attended sessions in China, Indonesia, Switzerland and the United States, at world-renowned institutions, including IMD Business School, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Tsinghua School of Economics and Management.

Some of the themes covered were Macro Trends in Asia, Leadership & Technology; Global Trends, Corporate Governance & Wealth Management; Growth Strategies, Managing Risk, Uncertainty & Other Challenges; Technology, Leadership & Service Excellence for Growth.

A distinct feature of the AFLP is its strong focus on the high-growth Asian financial markets of China and ASEAN.

Another attribute of the programme is the integrated pedagogical component, which includes site visits as well as discussions with regulators, leading financiers, think-tanks and thought leaders in both emerging and developed markets. 

Mr Gary Chan, Managing Director, Head of Corporate Banking, Citibank Singapore, who participated in the AFLP said “The inaugural AFLP curriculum was well structured and provided an outstanding learning experience with world-class faculty and exercises. For most modules, the quality of the speakers and their generosity in sharing their knowledge and experience is highly appreciated by all. The depth of experience and expertise that each attendee brings from different parts of the financial sector created a truly diverse and engaging learning environment for the class. I look forward to applying what I have learned from this programme in my career development and more importantly, share relevant lessons with my teams. Last but not least, the opportunity to be able to network and learn together with a group of great people is priceless.”

Another participant, Mr Ravi Manchanda, Chief Executive Singapore, Westpac Banking Corporation said “This inaugural AFLP course, spread over five international locations, was nostalgic as the course made us reflect on the banking landscape in Singapore and think of the future of banking here. My cohort, the leaders of tomorrow will still be here, despite advances in automation which cannot replicate intuition, creativity, innovation, compassion, imagination and trust. These will continue to be the DNA of our future selection of leaders. Our connections and bonding together was the mainstay of this batch of cohorts, together with both the SMU and TMS staff who did a superb job keeping our journey exciting and alive. I know that with the kind of training and learning provided, Singapore will survive strongly as an innovative financial hub.”

TMS and SMU have had an excellent track record in working together on the highly successful Master of Science in Wealth Management programme, which is ranked third in the world by Financial Times Global Masters in Finance Post-experience Ranking 2016 survey.

The next run of the AFLP will start in November 2016.

To find out more about the AFLP, pls visit https://business.smu.edu.sg/aflp

For more information, please contact

Teo Chang Ching (Mr)

Senior Assistant Director

Corporate Communications

Singapore Management University

DID: 6828 0451

Email: ccteo [at] smu.edu.sg

Christine Amour-Levar (Ms)

Communications Consultant

Temasek Trust & TMS

DID: 6828 6757

Email: christineamourlevar [at] temasektrust.org.sg