Gender is not an issue for first female brokerage chief
By Kim Bo-eun
As the first woman appointed CEO of a securities firm in Korea, KB Securities CEO Park Jeong-rim is frequently asked about what it is like to be a female leader in the male-centered finance industry.
But for Park, gender has never been an issue.
"The question should rather be: what is it like to be a CEO?" she told The Korea Times in an interview, Wednesday.
Park, who was appointed and started her term in January 2019, has competed fair and square, doing what it takes, even if it meant drinking heavily at dinner meetings.
She began her career at Chase Manhattan Bank and was with Choheung Economic Research Institute. She managed the asset risk management division at Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance before joining KB Kookmin Bank as manager of market operation risk. She then became the second female senior executive at Kookmin Bank.
Now Park is co-CEO at KB Securities, alongside Kim Seong-hyun. She also heads KB Financial Group's capital market division.
Park oversees wealth management, sales and trading. Under her leadership, KB's assets in financial products of the wealth management division grew by more than 10 trillion won to over 30 trillion won last year.
KB Securities stated on June 3 that assets of online customers exceeded 10 trillion won, as the brokerage focused on online wealth management services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Park said those assets grew to 11 trillion won over the following week.
After Park became CEO, KB Securities signed an agreement with the Ministry of Gender Equality on increasing female representation in management and leadership positions. This is a voluntary pledge to make efforts to improve gender representation.
Park has kept up efforts to be gender blind and acknowledge employees based on their capabilities. Gender blindness is the practice of disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions with people.
Two female executives have been appointed in recent months.
"There were competent figures for the positions and they were women," Park said, stating she is cautious about the idea of gender quotas.
Now women account for 15 percent of managers and leaders at KB Securities.
"This reflects that now the pool of capable women at senior levels has grown," she said.
This is a step forward, but securities firms still have a long way to go in terms of gender representation at senior positions, the CEO said.
Park said gender diversity is important, because domination by one certain gender can lead to risks, whether the gender be male or female.
"An organization with people with diverse thoughts will be able to hold discussions on a problem to find a balanced answer and hedge against risks," she said.
Park cited the example of the San Francisco-based fashion technology company Stitch Fix, from a book she is reading these days.
"CEO Katrina Lake has sought to achieve diversity by hiring people who can add to the organizational culture, instead of fitting into the existing culture," she said, bringing the book from her desk.
Park's level-headedness can be seen in the way she handles processes. Many of the reports to the CEO are done via the online messenger system, instead of in person.
"In-person reports take up so much time. Employees need to wait for their turn in front of my office, which is a waste of time," Park said.
"I prefer to be reported to via the online messenger because it is so much more efficient."
During the interview, this reporter could hear notifications ringing from Park's computer with the arrival of new messages.
Park said things were this way before social distancing measures were imposed due to COVID-19. She has shared her mobile number with employees so they can call the CEO when necessary.
She said utilizing these communication channels has helped create a more flexible culture within KB Securities.
By Kim Bo-eun
 |
| KB Securities CEO Park Jeong-rim |
But for Park, gender has never been an issue.
"The question should rather be: what is it like to be a CEO?" she told The Korea Times in an interview, Wednesday.
Park, who was appointed and started her term in January 2019, has competed fair and square, doing what it takes, even if it meant drinking heavily at dinner meetings.
She began her career at Chase Manhattan Bank and was with Choheung Economic Research Institute. She managed the asset risk management division at Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance before joining KB Kookmin Bank as manager of market operation risk. She then became the second female senior executive at Kookmin Bank.
Now Park is co-CEO at KB Securities, alongside Kim Seong-hyun. She also heads KB Financial Group's capital market division.
Park oversees wealth management, sales and trading. Under her leadership, KB's assets in financial products of the wealth management division grew by more than 10 trillion won to over 30 trillion won last year.
KB Securities stated on June 3 that assets of online customers exceeded 10 trillion won, as the brokerage focused on online wealth management services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Park said those assets grew to 11 trillion won over the following week.
After Park became CEO, KB Securities signed an agreement with the Ministry of Gender Equality on increasing female representation in management and leadership positions. This is a voluntary pledge to make efforts to improve gender representation.
Park has kept up efforts to be gender blind and acknowledge employees based on their capabilities. Gender blindness is the practice of disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions with people.
Two female executives have been appointed in recent months.
"There were competent figures for the positions and they were women," Park said, stating she is cautious about the idea of gender quotas.
Now women account for 15 percent of managers and leaders at KB Securities.
"This reflects that now the pool of capable women at senior levels has grown," she said.
This is a step forward, but securities firms still have a long way to go in terms of gender representation at senior positions, the CEO said.
Park said gender diversity is important, because domination by one certain gender can lead to risks, whether the gender be male or female.
"An organization with people with diverse thoughts will be able to hold discussions on a problem to find a balanced answer and hedge against risks," she said.
Park cited the example of the San Francisco-based fashion technology company Stitch Fix, from a book she is reading these days.
"CEO Katrina Lake has sought to achieve diversity by hiring people who can add to the organizational culture, instead of fitting into the existing culture," she said, bringing the book from her desk.
Park's level-headedness can be seen in the way she handles processes. Many of the reports to the CEO are done via the online messenger system, instead of in person.
"In-person reports take up so much time. Employees need to wait for their turn in front of my office, which is a waste of time," Park said.
"I prefer to be reported to via the online messenger because it is so much more efficient."
During the interview, this reporter could hear notifications ringing from Park's computer with the arrival of new messages.
Park said things were this way before social distancing measures were imposed due to COVID-19. She has shared her mobile number with employees so they can call the CEO when necessary.
She said utilizing these communication channels has helped create a more flexible culture within KB Securities.
