Standard Chartered Global Private Bank and the University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) have launched a four-month executive development programme aimed at the bank's most senior private banking leaders, as firms across the wealth industry step up investment in leadership training to match rising client sophistication.
The Standard Chartered Global Private Bank Mastery Programme – Leadership and Legacy, to give its full name, has been unveiled at a two-day kick-off seminar in Singapore. It is designed for (CISL), drawing on insights from the bank's regional heads. Its first cohort comprises 30 market heads and team leaders from the private bank's advisory centres in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and the UK. Participants will work through online modules over four months, before a four-day, on-campus immersion at Cambridge in October 2026.
The curriculum, led by CISL academic fellows, is intended to move beyond theory towards practical, outcome-focused application. It aims to build bankers' understanding of how global structural shifts are affecting ultra-high net worth individuals, their businesses and their families, equipping senior staff to guide clients on purposeful wealth stewardship today while preparing the next generation for succession.
Raymond Ang, global head of private bank and affluent clients, and head of wealth and retail banking for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered, said the bank was proud to be among the first global private banks to introduce a highly curated leadership programme for its senior bankers. Ang added that the programme was intended to build future-ready leaders able to support clients across their wealth and legacy journeys.
Lindsay Hooper, CISL's chief executive, said that CISL looked forward to working with the bank's executives to build competitiveness and resilience as they supported clients through changes wrought by technology, climate risk and social pressure, while delivering long-term success for the bank, clients and wider society.
Several banks and academic institutions around the world are building programmes and courses, for example in London, Geneva, Singapore and the US.
In September last year, the London Business School teamed up with HSBC to create a new wealth academy. In the US, Dynasty Financial Partners has worked with the MIT Sloan Business School, gathering the heads of the wealth managers in its network of firms to work through AI use cases. Among other specific examples are Imperial College London, which has an MSc in investment and wealth management; the London School of Finance and Law has a diploma course in investment and wealth management; Queen Mary University of London has a wealth management MSc; and Wharton and Columbia University School of Professional Studies run courses in wealth management. In Europe, examples include Geneva University with its MSc in wealth management.
Photo: Senior figures from Standard Chartered and CISL gathering to mark the launch of the programme.