May Tan, Adenike Oyeyiola and Bettina Cassegrain know that it takes a specialized skillset to lead an international institution. Decades of work experience, an appetite for making and maintaining networks and relationships, an exceptional ability to advocate for oneself, sensitivity to cultural differences, and many other skills helped our three interviewees become leaders in their respective organizations. Besides their individual professional accomplishments, they have another thing in common: a passion for advocating for other women who strive to become leaders in accounting and finance.

  • May Tan is standing wearing a white jacket and smiling

    Meet May Tan

    In 2014, May Tan became the first female CEO of Standard Charted Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“SCBHK”) in the bank’s 150-year history. Before retiring in 2017, she founded and championed the bank’s Women’s Network and served as its global sponsor for D&I. Prior to joining SCBHK, she served as the CEO of Cazenove Asia and was the first female partner at Cazenove and Co’s then 175-year history. Since retiring in 2017, May has focused on board and leadership positions: she currently serves on the Board of CLP Holdings, Manulife Financial and JP Morgan China Income and Growth PLC. 

    Read May Tan's Interview
  • Adenike Oyeyiola

    Meet Adenike Oyeyiola

    Adenike (Nike) Oyeyiola is a Practice Manager in the Governance Global Practice of the World Bank. She leads a team of highly professional staff working across all regions on core governance themes including Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability; Public Investment Management, Domestic Resource Mobilization, Governance of State-Owned Enterprises; Corporate Financial Reporting; financial management in Human Development Sectors; Governance of Infrastructure; and fiduciary assurance.  Nike is a Chartered Accountant, member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria.

    Read Adenike Oyeyiola's Interview
  • Bettina Cassegrain, a blonde woman photographed outside wearing a blue green and black shirt

    Meet Bettina Cassegrain

    Bettina Cassegrain is the partner in charge of International Business Development at COGEP in France, the Global Assurance Leader at HLB and a distinguished figure in the accounting world. Recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting for 2023, Bettina has made significant strides in her career and has been a trailblazer in promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I). With her extensive experience in a senior position within a global company, Bettina has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities presented by DE&I in the corporate world.

    Read Bettina Cassegrain's Interview
May Tan stands indoors wearing a white jacket, smiling
May Tan

Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

In 2014, May Tan became the first female CEO of Standard Charted Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“SCBHK”) in the bank’s 150-year history. Before retiring in 2017, she founded and championed the bank’s Women’s Network and served as its global sponsor for D&I. Prior to joining SCBHK, she served as the CEO of Cazenove Asia and was the first female partner at Cazenove and Co’s then 175-year history.

Since retiring in 2017, May has focused on board and leadership positions: she currently serves on the Board of CLP Holdings, Manulife Financial and JP Morgan China Income and Growth PLC. She has also served on the HSBC Insurance Board and the Link Asset Management Board. She has been a member of the Advisory Council of the Malaysian Chamber since 2019 and started the Women’s Network at the chamber in 2020.

Over the past 20 years, May has also made significant contributions to Hong Kong through numerous public roles. In 2016, she was the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, and Director of the Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited. In the same year, she was a member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee Sub-committee on Currency Board Operations of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and a member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

May is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. May received two awards from the American Chamber in HK: firstly “Woman Professional of the Year” award in 2015 and “Woman on Board of the Year” in 2020. In 2023, she was named a “Women of Our Time” by the South China Morning Post 2023. May is the co-founder of ACcelerate, a leadership program which was founded with the core purpose of bridging the gap in senior female representation at the C-suite and accelerate the progression of female talent to senior leadership roles

Adenike Oyeyiola
Adenike Oyeyiola

Adenike (Nike) Oyeyiola represents the World Bank as co-Chair of the MOSAIC Steering Committee of IFAC. She manages the World Bank global effort to strengthen public accountancy organizations including the Foundational Accounting and Financial Management Skills Enhancement Program which aims at increasing the number of suitably qualified and certified accounting technicians to serve in the private and public sectors in Africa.

Nike is a Practice Manager in the Governance Global Practice of the World Bank. She leads a team of highly professional staff working across all regions on core governance themes including Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability; Public Investment Management, Domestic Resource Mobilization, Governance of State-Owned Enterprises; Corporate Financial Reporting; financial management in Human Development Sectors; Governance of Infrastructure; and fiduciary assurance. Prior to joining the World Bank, she worked for 11 years in Ernst & Young (now EY) in Nigeria on assurance and advisory services up to the managerial level, with a focus on high risk assurance and consulting tasks.

Nike is a Chartered Accountant, member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria. She has a Master of Science degree in Public Policy and Management from University of London, a Master of Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science (Hon) Degree in Economics, both from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Bettina Cassegrain, a blonde woman photographed outside wearing a blue green and black shirt
Bettina Cassegrain

Global Assurance Leader

Bettina is a multilingual business development and audit specialist at COGEP.

In her role as Global Assurance Leader at  HLB International, Bettina is responsible for the network’s quality assurance programme. She has developed a pragmatic approach to training and development and leads outreach initiatives world-wide.

Bettina is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and a guest lecturer at the EM Normandie business school on topics such as Organisational Development & Change, Public Speaking and Intercultural Management.

Bettina is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a member of the Ordre des Experts Comptables as well as the Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes in France.