Baking goodies for sale as a teen holds lessons for bank CEO

He believes in continuous learning as a way to invest in oneself, and values experiences

- Sue-Ann Tan

Mr Victor Lee now holds a top position as chief executive of CIMB Singapore and growth markets.

But ask him the ingredients for his success and he is likely to tell you about his baking days as an 18-year-old and the hard work and perseverance that entailed, and his pride in the work.

In those days, he would bake intensely for three weeks, before going door to door in the Teachers' Estate near Yio Chu Kang Road to sell and deliver the baked goods. It would make him about $3,000 in extra pocket money—no small sum for the man who grew up in a working-class family.

The 54-year-old veteran banker quips of his teenage foray: "If I may say, my pineapple tarts were truly world-class, and so were my kueh bangkit!"

Mr Lee studied engineering, but opted to work at DBS Bank after university, leading him to a banking career across global and regional banks such as Citi, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB.

"I picked a bank instead of joining an engineering gig because I was keen to step out of my comfort zone. This is in part due to my intrinsic, innate love of challenging oneself," he says.

At 38 years old, he was named among the top 50 most promising young leaders in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East by The Asian Banker. He has also worked in Taiwan, China and Malaysia.

Mr Lee, who has two sons and two daughters with his homemaker wife, says his younger self was a different character.

"In my first 20 years of working and living in Singapore, I had endeavoured to live a better life, driven by the pursuit of some worldly achievements. Accumulating the 5Cs—especially career, condo, cash—was a benched target. Today, I am not as hyped up on accumulating such Cs. I place greater value on nurturing and building relationships," he says.

Q What do you invest in and why?