Dr John Lee

Throughout university, Dr John Lee was a bright student - a characteristic that coupled with hard work, has placed him on the road to success.

His doggedness and determination to someday be a successful banker earned him a Bachelor of Economics and Doctorate of Philosophy in Economics from Monash University, Australia.

“I have always been a fairly ambitious person and had set career goals for myself. I have been fortunate to meet these goals,” he says.

Dr Lee is the Group Chief Risk Officer of Maybank, and is responsible for credit and risk management across the Maybank Group. He was a guest of the School of Business of Monash University Sunway campus to speak on “Financial Services Industry – The Changing Environment.

The hour-long talk was held in conjunction with the recent Discover Monash Week which took place between 3 to 8 October, and was attended by students, lecturers and parents.

The man now providing advice to others admits that it is not such a smooth sail to the top. He advises on the best way to pave your own journey to success.

“I think it is important to set milestones for yourself in your career journey and choose the right path, which may not always be financially rewarding, initially. Every position you move to must provide you with a better platform to ultimately achieve your overall career objectives,” he said.

“Often we see people moved from one job to the next purely for monetary reward, but the moves do not always add value to your overall career. Of course luck is also important. As they say, being there at the right time at the right place,” Dr Lee added.

Individuals like Dr Lee manage to make most of the 24 hours in a day to produce more of themselves than others. He advises on the importance of being organized.

“Time management is always important. You need to always prioritize. I often like to work on simple tasks first, so that you could complete these tasks, rather than focusing on difficult task, which may take up more time than anticipated, leading to you not even completing the simple tasks,” he advised his audience.

Dr Lee also recommends patience to students, and to set their goals early in life and to work towards those goals.

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