“Faces” is a component of the Financial Centre Focus (FCF) initiative coordinated by BFSB and the Professional Industry Association Working Group to profile role models within the financial services sector. It is produced in collaboration with Guardian Business, with profiles appearing in the Monday edition of the Nassau Guardian each week.
Mildred L. Johnson, Manager-Compliance, Human Resources & Corporate Services, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
SNAPSHOT
EDUCATION & TRAINING: Diploma in Secretarial Science, Nassau Technical Centre, Nassau, Bahamas (1972); Certified Professional Secretary, International Association of Administrative Professionals, Missouri, USA (1995); International Diploma in Compliance & Anti-Money Laundering, University of Manchester, UK (2004); Certified Manager; Institute of Certified Professional Managers – Business School of James Madison University, Virginia, USA (2005)
CAREER: Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering, Human Resources
PERSONAL: Married to Robert A. Johnson, mother of 4 children and 2 grand children
What has been the biggest challenge in your career?
The biggest challenge for me is to juggle management of my “three major functions” – compliance, human resources and corporate services – and at the same time adequately respond to the demands of each, while ensuring they are compliant and that service delivery levels remain at an all-time high. I have not completely overcome the challenge but I have brought it within manageable means. Exposed function, in terms of legal and regulatory compliance, is regarded as the area to which I must (and do) direct my most urgent attention.
What advice would you give young people just starting out in the industry?
Firstly, do not make pay/reward demands your focus or priority – get in the door and make a positive contribution to the organisation so that your performance can be evaluated. Secondly, direct your focus toward “career development” rather than a “job”, and do so intently so that in the long run you add worth and value to your role and in turn are able to make a positive contribution, not only to your future but that of the organisation itself.
What attracted you to the sector?
My childhood interest was to become a Secretary and this lead me to pursue initially courses in typewriting at an early age (mid-teens) and then after leaving High School I enrolled into the Secretarial Diploma program at the Nassau Technical Centre. My first job was at The Tribune where, for the short time there, I typed and proof read news articles. With my interest more directed to the Secretarial field I responded to an opening at one of the then ‘big eight’ Accounting firms and was successful in securing a Junior Secretary job which was more aligned to my dream profession.
Fortunately that Junior Secretarial job offered me the opportunity to acquire Administrative and Corporate Secretarial skills and as I wanted to learn and be able to do more, I embraced the opportunity presented in these areas to be more productive and contributing to my job. Having had the exposure, the opportunity for more growth and development and also gained invaluable experience thereby, other doors opened for me within the financial sector and I delighted to enter therein and saw no reason to move outside the arena.
How long have you been involved in financial services?
39 plus years if I include the time I started my career in 1972 but specifically within the HSBC Group it has been 26 years and counting. I have been employed by three major employers since I started my career with the majority of that spent within the Banking and Trust sector.
What keeps you motivated?
The functions that I currently manage (Compliance/Anti-Money Laundering, Human Resources and Corporate Services) are interesting and ever evolving with challenges and demands that sometime seem unabated but within me there is an innate desire to give stellar performance to assigned functions and in so doing, I try as best I can to ensure a positive contribution is made to the future and well-being of my firm and ultimately The Bahamas as a top financial centre. Of course the positive responses I receive from time to time from various portals including my bosses, colleagues, staff and others, suggesting I have made a worthwhile contribution motivate me.
Why do you think you have been successful?
I have put my trust in God for to me I cannot make it without Him.
Did mentoring play a part in your success?
Yes. There are, among others, some notable CEOs and colleagues that I worked with (past and present) and other ‘influential’ persons (unrelated to my job) who were instrumental in helping me in my journey and also they, to some extent, gave me the ‘impetus’ I felt I needed to succeed at the various stages of my career. Having had such wonderful mentors during the course of my career, I in turn use mentoring to help others as the experience has helped me to see the benefits.
What qualifications do you feel were the most useful in helping you perform in the sector?
My on-the-job skills training augmented with related professional learning and development training. This type of training and development was more ‘hands-on’ with theory and practice intertwined, allowing for exposure and experience to accomplished at the same time and ultimately it helped me to be more focused on what I needed to know to perform my various job functions well.
Why is it important to encourage our youth to think of careers within financial services?
There are innumerable professional development opportunities for career building within both the offshore and onshore financial services industry in The Bahamas. In addition, there are a goodly number of Bahamians who are leaders in the financial services sector in The Bahamas and abroad and we while have a good pool of local professional Bahamians, our succession plan is thus that we want to keep the pool sourced and so for me the opportunities are countless. Having said thus, I personally feel it is our responsibility to grow the sector and we can only do so by encouraging careers to be aligned within.
Are there specific suggestions they have for sustaining and/or growing the financial services sector?
I recommend career choices are introduced much earlier in the educational stage (e.g. Grade 8) with appropriate grooming and prepping added thereto. This I believe will allow the student to think more strategically at completing his/her education and doing so with a sense of pride for his/her future accomplishment(s). He/She will be working towards embracing a career rather than just getting a job and I also believe will be more directed in what he/she is able to do as far as his/her career choice is concerned.