{"id":9079,"date":"2022-10-01T12:01:41","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T04:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/?p=9079"},"modified":"2025-07-29T14:32:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T06:32:03","slug":"banking-on-doing-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2022\/10\/01\/banking-on-doing-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Banking on Doing Good"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

You could call it an essay-writing assignment that changed her life. In 1990, Ms Junie Foo was a Political Science undergraduate when she entered a Japanese essay-writing competition. The topic? The past, present and future of Singapore. \u201cI don\u2019t remember exactly what I wrote, but I think we had been coming out of a recession at that point, so I touched on that, as well as on our multicultural society,\u201d she recalls.

Her piece caught the eye of business leaders and, even before graduation, she was offered a job at a major Japanese financial institution. That kick-started her success in the financial industry, where, over the course of nearly 30 years, she attained many firsts. For instance, the distinction of being the first non-Japanese and the first woman in the management team of the Corporate Banking Division, Asia Oceania, in a Japanese financial institution.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
On stage at the MWS Charity Ball in October 2019.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

But climbing the corporate ladder was not all that it was made out to be. \u201cAfter 25 years or so, I recall doing the budgeting for our regions, looking at revenues and earnings, and thinking, \u2018I can do much more for the community\u2019,\u201d she shares. She spent two years pondering her next move even as other banks came calling. Her husband, whom she had confided in, told her going back to the banks would be an act of \u201cvanity\u201d. \u201cSo I decided to do an act for the community,\u201d she says, explaining her decision to join Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) as its Chief Executive Officer in 2018.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\"\"<\/h4>

\u00a0<\/h4>

FINDING FULFILMENT\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>

Ms Foo\u2019s advice to those who are grappling with tough career choices: \u201cConsider how fulfilling your new role might be. It is an overlooked factor, but one that can make all the difference.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Painting with seniors at the MWS Active Ageing Centre.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Ms Foo with staff and volunteers at a Chinese New Year celebration.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A DIFFERENT WORLD<\/strong><\/p>

The world of social services was a far cry from the glamour of banking. As a multifaceted social services agency with over 600 staff, MWS\u2019 operations span from helping the destitute to caring for vulnerable seniors in the community. Ms Foo quips that her career change took her from the glitzy restaurants of Marina Bay to rental flats in Hougang. \u201cThere was once I was at a nursing home and sitting with a resident who had been born blind and deaf, and had just been abandoned,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWe could not converse at all, but I just sat next to her and put my hand on her shoulder to let her know that she was not alone.\u201d Ms Foo describes it as a \u201cmoment of affirmation\u201d. \u201cIt made clear that me being in social services was a calling.\u201d

But she admits that, as with every sector, the social services industry too, has its challenges \u2013 the biggest being talent retention. Ms Foo\u2019s former world of banking is rife with fat pay cheques, but such large salaries are impossibly rare in social services. \u201cIt says a lot about society and what we value,\u201d says Ms Foo with a shrug. \u201cBut I\u2019m hoping to change that. We cannot short-change our talent, because they do so much good for the community.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From trailblazer in the banking world to leader in social services \u2014 Ms Junie Foo (Arts & Social Sciences \u201990) has found her journey to be full of fulfilment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":9081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","category-social-impact"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9079"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9111,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9079\/revisions\/9111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}