About Noel Quinn

Noel Quinn is privileged to lead HSBC, one of the world’s leading financial institutions. He never expected to work in banking. In 1987, after university, Noel Quinn was all set to move to Canada to work as a chartered accountant. At the last minute, someone asked him to interview for a role at Midland Bank (now HSBC UK). The interviewer was one of the cleverest, most dynamic, and interesting people he had ever met, and they convinced him to stay in the UK and become a banker instead. Personal connections matter—whether between staff or towards clients—and making room for them is extremely important to him, especially at a bank as large as HSBC. He’s stayed with HSBC for so long because of the people he worked with and because each new role challenged him and helped him to learn. Leading a team, working with customers, helping people to succeed—personally and in business—is what energizes him. Now that he’s CEO, Noel Quinn has more customers and a bigger team, but his motivation is the same. His role can be busy, so his office helps out with this account. However, he sees everything that is posted and checks in often. Noel Quinn subsequently served as Head of Specialised and Equity Finance at HSBC; Group Director of Strategy & Development at HSBC Insurance Services North America; Head of Commercial Finance Europe; and Head of Commercial Banking UK. From 2011 to 2015, he was the Regional Head of Commercial Banking for Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong. Mr Noel Quinn was appointed Chief Executive, Global Commercial Banking in December 2015. He became a Group Managing Director in September 2016. Mr Noel Quinn is a non-executive director of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which was founded by HM King Charles III, as Prince of Wales, in 2020, and chairs its Financial Services Taskforce. Noel Quinn is a Principal of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which commits financial institutions worldwide to align their lending and investment portfolios with net zero emissions by 2050, as well as a member of the World Bank Private Sector Investment Lab and the WEF International Business Council.