During his undergraduate studies in Finance, Raymond was inspired by his alma mater’s focus on continuous improvement and exploring the world, and has always followed a non-traditional path. Two years after graduating from the HKUST Hong Kong campus, Raymond travelled to London to start a new page of his banking career and is now running a professional corporate services firm, Piloto Asia, in Singapore.

Recalling his fun-filled days at HKUST, Raymond says, ”It does have an immense impact on my personal and career development. HKUST has always put great focus on internationalisation and the School was running one of the best student exchange programs more than a decade back when cross-country exchange wasn’t yet mainstream. I was privileged to have studied for a semester in Zhejiang University back in 2006 which widened my horizons and helped my understanding of Chinese culture, and these have proven critical in business development.” Raymond also joined HKUST mentorship programmes where he met a couple of great mentors who have very successful careers in Morgan Stanley and Ping An Bank respectively, and they are still continuing to share life and parenting lessons today.

After spending seven fruitful years in banking across three countries, Raymond stumbled upon an opportunity to start a professional business consulting firm in Singapore, eyeing the great opportunities from the strong development within Asean, of which Singapore is a key financial hub. 

“On a personal level, it was challenging to leave behind a comfortable banking job but looking back. especially after the roller-coaster year of 2020, it was the best decision of my life,” says Raymond. “With technological advancement and a gradual shift in consumer behavior and mindset, it becomes ever more important to adopt continuous learning beyond our school campus’ curriculum. Nowadays, learning comes from a combination of working with the best talents, ecosystems, curriculums and having an open mind. HKUST planted the seeds of curiosity in me, whilst the opportunity of running a cross-country business is the best practice ground for my personal development.” Raymond is glad to see the great support to the HKUST startup community from the university’s Entrepreneurship Centre these days.

With Piloto Asia, Raymond’s team is working hard to provide market-entry services into Asean economies, offering one-stop business solutions such as company incorporation, corporate services, accounting, tax, immigrations and HR support to corporates in Asia Pacific and globally. Perhaps thanks to the early exposure to a multicultural campus, Raymond is now building and running an international team who speaks six languages serving clients from twenty-five nationalities. Together with his partner, Raymond instils a continuous learning culture in his team where members are encouraged to do nothing for one day a month, but to learn what they feel are beneficial to their career and personal development. “This way, they can ensure that their skills and service level are constantly improving, and add more value to clients who put their faith with them,” explains Raymond.

He ends by borrowing Zig Ziglar’s quote: “Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude.”