HSBC Holdings, a 160-year-old leader in global corporate and institutional banking, has appointed Pam Kaur as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), marking a historic milestone as she becomes the first woman to hold this position in the company’s history. Kaur succeeds Georges Elhedery, who moved into the CEO role earlier this year.

Pam Kaur, an internal candidate, has been with HSBC since April 2013, initially serving as the Group Head of Internal Audit. She has been viewed as a frontrunner for the CFO position since September, according to reports from Reuters.

Over her tenure, Kaur has held several critical roles, including Head of Wholesale Market and Credit Risk, and Chair of the enterprise-wide non-financial risk forum. In January 2020, she was appointed Group Chief Risk Officer, with compliance responsibilities added in June 2021. Currently, she is a Group Managing Director and a member of the Group Executive Committee.

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Kaur began her career in internal audit at Citibank after earning her CA designation from Ernst & Young. She has extensive experience in leadership positions across major financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds TSB.

Kaur has also worked closely with regulators and supervisory boards globally. Additionally, she serves as a non-executive Director for Abrdn plc and has previously held the same role at Centrica plc. Kaur holds an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Panjab University in India and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.