Who is Pam Kaur, HSBC's first female CFO in the company's 160-year journey?

Pam Kaur joined HSBC in April 2013 as the Group Head of Internal Audit and had been considered a top contender for the CFO role since September

HSBC Holdings, the 160-year-old global corporate and institutional banking giant, made a significant leadership change by appointing Pam Kaur (60) as its chief financial officer (CFO). This marks the first time a woman has held this position in the company’s history. 

Pam Kaur succeeds Georges Elhedery, who transitioned to the CEO role earlier this year. “We had a strong bench of internal and external candidates to choose from, and Pam was the exceptional candidate to recommend to the Board,” Elhedery said in a company statement.

 

Who is Pam Kaur?

An internal candidate, Pam Kaur has served as HSBC’s Chief Risk and Compliance Officer. She joined the company in April 2013 as the Group Head of Internal Audit and had been considered a top contender for the CFO role since September, according to reports from Reuters. 

 

Pam Kaur has held multiple key roles at HSBC. In April 2019, she was named Head of Wholesale Market and Credit Risk, and also became Chair of the enterprise-wide non-financial risk forum. By January 2020, she was appointed Group Chief Risk Officer, later adding compliance oversight to her responsibilities in June 2021. She is a Group Managing Director and sits on the Group Executive Committee. 

A qualified Chartered Accountant (CA), she began her career in internal audit at Citibank after earning her CA from Ernst & Young. Her experience spans leadership roles across various global financial institutions, including the Deutsche Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds TSB. She has also worked closely with regulators and supervisory boards worldwide. Pam Kaur currently serves as a non-executive Director for Abrdn plc and previously held the same position at Centrica plc, stated her profile on the HSBC website. 

Pam Kaur holds an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Panjab University, India, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Restructuring at HSBC

HSBC also announced plans to restructure its operations, effective January 1, 2025, into four key divisions: the Hong Kong division, the UK division, the corporate and institutional banking division, and the international wealth and premier banking division.

As part of the restructuring, HSBC will merge its commercial banking operations (excluding those in the UK and Hong Kong) with its global banking and markets business. The new corporate and institutional banking unit will manage wholesale banking activities in key Western markets, including the UK, Europe, and the US. 

According to Elhedery, the revised structure aims to create a simpler, more agile organisation that will allow HSBC to focus on its strategic priorities, which remain unchanged. 

HSBC, which employs around 214,000 people, continues to reduce its presence in Western markets like Canada, France, and the US, while concentrating on growth in Asia and other regions where it has a stronger market presence.