<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Goodbye, Rich
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Staff, friends and banking fraternity saddened by death of affable DBS chief </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
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In his nine-month stint as CEO, Mr Richard Stanley not only made his mark professionally by seeing DBS through one of its most trying times, but he will also be fondly remembered for his warm, personable leadership style. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF DBS
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->One day, on his way in to work, Mr Richard Stanley was stopped at the DBS Tower One lobby by a new security guard who did not recognise him.
Instead of flying off the handle, the late chief executive of DBS Bank simply gave the guard a wink and a big pat on the shoulder, before passing him his name card with a hearty laugh.
=> Should not the security guard be praised for being alert and professional instead and the CEO castigated for not following security procedures?
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Kind and humble man had time for everyone
Wreaths lined the fifth-storey hall of the Singapore Casket last night as well-wishers paid their last respects to Mr Richard Stanley.
Ms Koh Li Peng, Mr Stanley's wife, was seen talking to well-wishers. She declined to speak to the media.
Loss may leave vacuum at top
The loss of DBS Group Holdings' chief executive Richard Stanley will not affect business activity at the bank in the short term, said analysts.
But in the long run, if no suitable replacement is found, his absence will leave a 'vacuum of sorts' in top-level executive leadership, they added.
Infection after chemotherapy led to death
How do you deal with a cancer that attacks blood?
Early diagnosis and treatment improve the odds of beating this fast-spreading blood cancer, or acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Stories like these - related to The Sunday Times by a DBS manager - represent what the bank, South-east Asia's largest lender, will miss most about the affable 48-year-old American, who insisted that people should just call him 'Rich'.
'His sincerity touched many,' said Mr Eric Ang, head of capital markets and a long-time stalwart of the bank. 'With trust and friendship as his hallmark, he won the respect and admiration of many who rallied behind him.'
Added another bank employee: 'Rich came across as a more personable CEO. During staff townhall meetings, he would share anecdotes about his family and throw in some Singlish for laughs.'
This was a contrast to his predecessor - fellow American Jackson Tai - whom many DBS staff described as being 'all business'.
=> Would they say the same thing if that Hongkee is still in power? Dogs!
It also explained the hundreds of get-well messages Mr Stanley received from staff when news of his illness broke in January, and why his death has shocked and saddened so many, even those outside DBS.
Within hours of the news of his death, the chiefs of local banking rivals United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank both offered deep condolences.
'We are deeply saddened by the news of Richard's demise. Our heartfelt condolences to his family during this time of grief,' said UOB deputy chairman and chief executive Wee Ee Cheong.
'I was deeply saddened on hearing of Rich's sudden passing. The fragility of life is so unpredictable. Rich was a former colleague, a good friend and a fine man. He was a very capable banker and his passing is indeed a loss to Asia's banking profession. I will miss him dearly. My wife and I extend our deepest condolences to Li Peng and his family,' said CEO of OCBC David Conner, a former colleague at Citi.
Long-time friends and former colleagues like Citigroup chiefs Piyush Gupta and Jonathan Larsen said they knew him as a fighter and were confident he would overcome his illness. In fact, just days after he was admitted for treatment in January, colleagues said they saw a set of free-weights in his hospital ward - a sign that the native New Yorker was not going down without a fight.
Fight he did, but the acute myelogenous leukaemia - the cancer condition he was diagnosed with - proved too much even for the fighter in him.
Having grown up in New York, Mr Stanley joined Citibank after his graduation from the State University of New York in 1982.
'You know, I still have my first Citibank performance appraisal from 1981 when I was an intern,' Mr Stanley reminisced in an interview last year. 'My boss wrote, under 'Areas For Development': Speaks with racehorse speed.'
The fast-talking banker would stay on with the American bank for 27 years, eventually heading its all-important China operations. So when he started work as DBS CEO in May last year, it was a big change. Yet he also saw it as a sort of 'homecoming'.
=> Sg = FTrash playground?
That is because Singapore was Mr Stanley's first overseas posting; he landed on its shores in 1990. He also had a second stint here in late 2004, when he served for five months as Citibank's country officer.
But it was during his first posting, on the streets of the Shenton Way financial district, that his life changed forever.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Staff, friends and banking fraternity saddened by death of affable DBS chief </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
In his nine-month stint as CEO, Mr Richard Stanley not only made his mark professionally by seeing DBS through one of its most trying times, but he will also be fondly remembered for his warm, personable leadership style. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF DBS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->One day, on his way in to work, Mr Richard Stanley was stopped at the DBS Tower One lobby by a new security guard who did not recognise him.
Instead of flying off the handle, the late chief executive of DBS Bank simply gave the guard a wink and a big pat on the shoulder, before passing him his name card with a hearty laugh.
=> Should not the security guard be praised for being alert and professional instead and the CEO castigated for not following security procedures?
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Kind and humble man had time for everyone
Wreaths lined the fifth-storey hall of the Singapore Casket last night as well-wishers paid their last respects to Mr Richard Stanley.
Ms Koh Li Peng, Mr Stanley's wife, was seen talking to well-wishers. She declined to speak to the media.
Loss may leave vacuum at top
The loss of DBS Group Holdings' chief executive Richard Stanley will not affect business activity at the bank in the short term, said analysts.
But in the long run, if no suitable replacement is found, his absence will leave a 'vacuum of sorts' in top-level executive leadership, they added.
Infection after chemotherapy led to death
How do you deal with a cancer that attacks blood?
Early diagnosis and treatment improve the odds of beating this fast-spreading blood cancer, or acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Stories like these - related to The Sunday Times by a DBS manager - represent what the bank, South-east Asia's largest lender, will miss most about the affable 48-year-old American, who insisted that people should just call him 'Rich'.
'His sincerity touched many,' said Mr Eric Ang, head of capital markets and a long-time stalwart of the bank. 'With trust and friendship as his hallmark, he won the respect and admiration of many who rallied behind him.'
Added another bank employee: 'Rich came across as a more personable CEO. During staff townhall meetings, he would share anecdotes about his family and throw in some Singlish for laughs.'
This was a contrast to his predecessor - fellow American Jackson Tai - whom many DBS staff described as being 'all business'.
=> Would they say the same thing if that Hongkee is still in power? Dogs!
It also explained the hundreds of get-well messages Mr Stanley received from staff when news of his illness broke in January, and why his death has shocked and saddened so many, even those outside DBS.
Within hours of the news of his death, the chiefs of local banking rivals United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank both offered deep condolences.
'We are deeply saddened by the news of Richard's demise. Our heartfelt condolences to his family during this time of grief,' said UOB deputy chairman and chief executive Wee Ee Cheong.
'I was deeply saddened on hearing of Rich's sudden passing. The fragility of life is so unpredictable. Rich was a former colleague, a good friend and a fine man. He was a very capable banker and his passing is indeed a loss to Asia's banking profession. I will miss him dearly. My wife and I extend our deepest condolences to Li Peng and his family,' said CEO of OCBC David Conner, a former colleague at Citi.
Long-time friends and former colleagues like Citigroup chiefs Piyush Gupta and Jonathan Larsen said they knew him as a fighter and were confident he would overcome his illness. In fact, just days after he was admitted for treatment in January, colleagues said they saw a set of free-weights in his hospital ward - a sign that the native New Yorker was not going down without a fight.
Fight he did, but the acute myelogenous leukaemia - the cancer condition he was diagnosed with - proved too much even for the fighter in him.
Having grown up in New York, Mr Stanley joined Citibank after his graduation from the State University of New York in 1982.
'You know, I still have my first Citibank performance appraisal from 1981 when I was an intern,' Mr Stanley reminisced in an interview last year. 'My boss wrote, under 'Areas For Development': Speaks with racehorse speed.'
The fast-talking banker would stay on with the American bank for 27 years, eventually heading its all-important China operations. So when he started work as DBS CEO in May last year, it was a big change. Yet he also saw it as a sort of 'homecoming'.
=> Sg = FTrash playground?
That is because Singapore was Mr Stanley's first overseas posting; he landed on its shores in 1990. He also had a second stint here in late 2004, when he served for five months as Citibank's country officer.
But it was during his first posting, on the streets of the Shenton Way financial district, that his life changed forever.
