Peter Wong poses in front of a mural in Indiana University’s Lilly House.

How Peter Wong’s Indiana University Experience Prepared Him for Lifelong Success in Asia’s Growing Economy

Peter Wong made the long journey from Hong Kong to Bloomington, Indiana, in the early 1970s, returning to Asia with an MBA just as China’s economic reforms were unfolding, ushering in an era of foreign investments.

Wong, who manages operations across Asia Pacific for HSBC, one of the world’s largest global banks, remembers the challenges of living in China before the economic reforms.

“My parents went from Shanghai to Hong Kong in the late 1940s as refugees. My father did not have a penny on him. He was lucky. He bumped into a friend who gave him a job. From there he made it on his own. I was born in 1951, not long after they came to Hong Kong, and we had a very, very tough life for a while.

“It was very touching to see my father doing his budget. He always had food and lodging as the first item. And then, the second item was always education. He believed then, as he believes now — he’s 94 — that education is everything.

“It is because of this belief [of my father’s] that I got to come to Indiana University and I got a very good education.

Wong earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and then an MBA from the Kelley School of Business.

“When I first got to IU, I was lonely. I was homesick. I did not know how to talk to the other students. And, at home, anxiety was high for me to do well. I told my roommate I played varsity soccer in high school. He told me there was a tryout that night for the IU soccer team. I did not even know what a tryout was all about. My roommate went that night, and he told the coach, Jerry Yeagley, about me. The coach followed up the next day, and that changed my life.

Peter Wong and retired Indiana University men’s soccer coach Jerry Yeagley smile as they reminisce.

“Soccer gave me a sense of belonging. I learned how to be part of a team, how to lose, get better and how to win again. That’s something that’s very important in today’s business.”

“The Kelley School gave me the foundation to enable me to grasp the changes happening around the world. It allowed me to manage the cultural differences between the rising economies in the East— especially China, India, Singapore and so forth—and the West in the United States and the United Kingdom.”

After graduating from IU, Wong began his banking career at Citibank as an assistant financial controller. He held many positions at Citibank over the next 16 years before joining Standard Chartered Bank in 1997, eventually earning an appointment overseeing the bank’s Greater China operations.

Wong joined HSBC in 2005, and was appointed chairman in 2011. He has also served as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2009.

“Managing the cultural differences is very difficult because China was closed for 5,000 years, and it was at war for the last 150 years. It has just been opened the last 40 years, and so the mentality of China versus that of the Western world is very different. It was my ability to manage that cultural difference that got me my first job so I’m very grateful to IU and the Kelley School of Business.”

Peter Wong kicks a soccer ball on the IU soccer practice field.

Peter Wong’s Five Tips for Leadership Success

In a 2011 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Wong said, “If I ever had the chance to write a book, it’d be about how to make complicated life simple.” Here are his five tips for simplifying life as a leader.

1. Be tough—an ability that is helpful when you are controlling costs and planning for growth

2. Be fair and consistent

3. Spot talent and let people fly—don’t try to control creativity

4. Work hard so your colleagues will look up to you

5. Anticipate what’s ahead so you can lead others

Momentum Magazine

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How Peter Wong’s Indiana University Experience Prepared Him for Lifelong Success in Asia’s Growing Economy

“Soccer gave me a sense of belonging. I learned how to be part of a team, how to lose, get better and how to win again. That’s something that’s very important in today’s business.”