Page 60 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 3 | February - March 2024

Banking wisely with Gidon Jerome Kessel,
Head of Deposit and Wealth Management at
UOB Thailand.

B Y MAHMOOD HO S S AIN

the profile of our Thai-Indian Effectively, we are servicing three key
segments: privilege banking and wealth
clients is certainly very savvy. banking, as well as mass through multiple
Many are entrepreneurial, channels; whether it is digital, through
the physical branches, or to the small and
SMEs, and typically of a medium-sized businesses.
certain generation. What would you say are the essential
elements or tools in wealth management?
Well, it’s a number of elements. One is
Before becoming the Head of Deposit and Wealth
Management of UOB Thailand, Gidon Jerome Kessel product pallet and offering. You have to
has 26 years of experience in financial services. Primarily have the right solution for a product based
with Citibank, where he spent most of his career before UOB on the client’s profile and appetite. Second,
acquired Citibank in Thailand, Gidon found himself in the wealth and often it is proprietary, is the advice that
management field across six different markets and countries, overlays that. So the intellectual advice, from
both in Asia and Europe. What attracted him to Thailand was the advisory tools they have, such as the
the opportunity to build a wealth proposition and help with the people, the research, the whole ecosystem,
integration and take UOB forward. really, is a very important aspect. Because
products can be commoditised, and can be
Originally from Australia, and now a dual citizen in the UK, Gidon offered by any other competitor, but it’s that
was educated in the US before he embarked on his journey of sort of proprietary or advisory is I believe to
working through various nations, such as South Korea, Singapore, be critical.
the UK, Greece, and Australia. With a fascinating background yet
plenty of room for intrigue, we took a deeper dive into the world The third would be delivery and fulfilment.
of wealth management and how Gidon manages to balance his Whether it’s our mass segment, looking
responsibilities. through our digital solutions, more of
the mobile self-service, bank app, to the
spectrum of our high-net-worth clientele,
What are your main responsibilities as the head of deposit and which sort of dictates more a personalised,
wealth management at UOB Thailand? bespoke servicing, we make sure they are
The wealth management construct, flexibly, has oversight of four all accompanied by advisory specialists. It’s
crucial we have that personnel in place to
departments. The first is deposits, where there are fixed deposits and fulfil those deliveries.
custom products through various channels. Second, we have the
investment product department, as it implies, it develops products and The fourth piece, of course, would be people.
wholesales accordingly to RMs and bankers. The third department is We have highly qualified individuals with a
insurance, where we take care of insurance solutions. Finally, there is client-centric mindset who are fully engaged
the fourth, which is the advisory department, where there is advisory and aware of the market dynamic. This gives
and strategy that are implemented to sort of overlay those product lines. us the differentiating competitive advantage.

60 | MASALA MAGAZINE FEB-MAR 2024