An excerpt from The Hong Kong Economic Times

“My two kids were born after I came to J.P. Morgan – it never crossed my mind to not have children while doing this job,’’ says Catherine Leung, Managing Director and Head of Hong Kong Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan. Some might say investment banking isn’t for women who want to strike a balance between work and family, but Leung and others are out there to prove them wrong.

J.P. Morgan has seen a significant increase in senior female employees in recent years. Among them are Leung; Sherry Liu, Vice Chairman of China; Jing Ulrich, Chairman of China Equities; and Vedika Bhandarkar, Head of Investment Banking, India. J.P. Morgan cultivates an environment in which women can succeed in the workplace and maintain a healthy family life, they say.  

Flexible working arrangements are just one of the firm’s policies to support professional mothers. “If my daughter has a performance in school, I can take an hour out to see her and then go back to work,” Leung says.

A little time can make a great deal of difference, according to Bhandarkar, a mother of two. “I’m so busy that sometimes I meet my family at the airport,” she says. “Luckily, they’re very supportive.”

Ulrich, who spends 70 percent of her time on the road each year, shares her secret of balancing work and private life. Her husband of 15 years takes time to travel with her so that they spend more time together. “I don’t see any conflict at all between work and family,” she says.

Hard work and enthusiasm are the key ingredients for success in investment banking, says Ulrich, who was named “Young Achiever of the Year” in last year’s “Women of Influence” awards sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. “I put in 110% and I want to be the crème de la crème of the industry,” she says.

Liu has seen a twist or two on her road to success. Born in a traditional Chinese family, she followed her parents’ wish and obtained a degree in medicine. Three months into the profession, she knew it wasn’t what she wanted and left for the U.S. to study finance. The first few months weren’t easy, but she got through with determination. Now, she’s one of the top executives at J.P. Morgan China. “Sacrificing personal time for work is inevitable but worth it,” she says.

“Little things build up, that’s how trust is established. The cards you put in the mail, the text messages you send and the calls you make to find out how they are...when they have a big transaction, the clients think of you straight away because they know you care.”
-- Catherine Leung

“Women are good listeners. I find that I communicate better with clients.”
-- Vedika Bhandarkar