Cover Kam Shing Kwang, CEO, Hong Kong, and chair, North Asia, J.P. Morgan—featured in the Tatler Leadership AI Coalition (Photo: Ken Leung)
Kam Shing Kwang, CEO, Hong Kong, and chair, North Asia, J.P. Morgan—featured in the Tatler Leadership AI Coalition (Photo: Ken Leung)
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AI breaks new ground every week. Six Hong Kong executives—from McDonald’s to J.P. Morgan—explain why AI literacy, humility, curiosity and “the human touch” matter more than ever
Trained as an accountant, Kam Shing Kwang once believed that in the world of investment, success began and ended with returns. “When I was a portfolio manager earlier on in my career, I used to think that all that mattered was performance,” says Kwang, who joined J.P. Morgan in 1998 and later took on leadership roles in private banking and investment banking. She has since learnt that, “Yes, performance matters, but trust comes from empathy and aligning to what clients actually need, not just returns.”
Above Kam Shing Kwang, CEO, Hong Kong, and chair, North Asia, J.P. Morgan (Photo: J.P. Morgan handout)
Kam Shing Kwang, CEO, Hong Kong, and chair, North Asia, J.P. Morgan (Photo: J.P. Morgan handout)
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Prioritising trust and empathy has taken on new meaning as high finance navigates AI adoption. Globally, J.P. Morgan has allocated US$19.8 billion to tech investments in 2026—a year-over-year increase of ten per cent—with generative AI representing the fastest-growing segment of AI solutions. Now at the helm of the firm’s century-old Hong Kong franchise, Kwang can leverage AI using J.P. Morgan’s LLM suite to create presentations or conduct research: “Sometimes when I want to go deep into a subject, I use it to bounce ideas off,” she says. “It’s a great partner.”
At the same time, the CEO maintains a healthy scepticism regarding the technology’s outputs. “It can get you to the right place fast, but it can also get you to the wrong place just as fast,” she says, stressing that users must take an extra step to critique and validate results: “You need to be able to exercise judgment.”
To hone this judgment firsthand, Kwang enrolled in weekend AI classes through Preface. A member of the start-up’s executive training programme, Kwang—a Tatler Most Influential honouree—was initially hesitant to spend more time learning about the technology, but she concluded she needed to lead by example: “You cannot just ask people to use it and not use it yourself,” she says.
Read more: Randy Lai: the McDonald’s Hong Kong CEO on leveraging AI for fast food experiences
Kwang’s learning trajectory also led her to join the AI-5000 programme, an initiative run jointly by Preface and the Melo Foundation, a Hong Kong charity. Through AI-5000, Kwang participates in regular workshops where she speaks with teenagers on career development topics and AI literacy. In the process, she learns from younger generations’ perspectives on the technology; similarly, at J.P. Morgan, “I love interacting with students and our analysts because I learn a lot from them,” Kwang says. “They equally share with me some of the new things they know that I don’t, and that makes me much better at what I do.”
Some insights from younger generations come from home. For one, her daughter pointed out that over-relying on chatbots had an environmental toll: “She said, ‘These simple questions, you don’t need to ask ChatGPT!’” Kwang laughs.
For students across Hong Kong, many of whom might aspire to work in financial services, Kwang notes that future success depends on building “credibility”, as in, technical skills and knowledge; digital skills, including familiarity with AI tools; and what she describes as “softer” skills, such as empathy, communication and relationship-building. “We can assume everyone will learn to use AI very proficiently in no time,” she adds. “But I think the softer skill sets are critical and will set you apart, and that’s one’s differentiator.”
“The world of finance is about people and relationships,” Kwang says. “It’s about solving problems for real human beings. So that aspect of it can never be replaced by AI.”
In collaboration with Preface, a Hong Kong-based tech content and training company that helps people understand and navigate technology in today’s fast-changing world, Tatler presents the AI Leadership coalition: six industry heavyweights who are redefining what it means to lead today. Read the full cover story here.
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Cat Wang is an editor at Tatler Asia based in Hong Kong, where she covers business, wealth, innovation, and impact. Previously, she was a Forbes Asia reporter and assistant editor of the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list, spotlighting startups and small companies on the rise across the Asia-Pacific. She began her career as a trainee reporter at the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s newspaper of record. Born in New York City, she graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.A. in political science.
