Hana nurtures next-generation women leaders through dedicated program

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, front row center, poses with participants of the group's leadership program for women, Hana Waves, at Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group launched the fourth cohort of its Hana Waves next-generation leadership program for women at its headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday.

Hana has been running the leadership program since 2021 to cultivate women as future leaders. "Waves" stands for Women's Actions, Voices and Emotions, reflecting its goal of making waves of innovation through women's active participation in society.

The program has so far trained 98 women leaders over three cohorts. It has strengthened its footing as a leading program for women's career development, with seven of the participants having been promoted to executive positions.

The 22 participants for the fourth cohort of the program were selected based on recommendations from the CEOs of related companies. It is expected to help them further develop expertise and leadership by offering training in diverse areas such as leadership, strategy, communication, team projects, digital knowledge and data, as well as feedback from those who have already completed the program.

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo said at a launching ceremony that the financial group has been cherishing and nurturing employees based on their performance rather than their diploma, background or gender.

Ham himself is an example, as he started working right after graduating from high school. He later got a college diploma by working during the day and studying at night and rose to the top position at the country's major financial group by proving his capabilities.

Ham told attendees, "To become an attractive leader, we should lead by example and continuously enhance competitiveness by learning. The most important thing is to win the hearts of customers and employees by always thinking from their perspectives. That is the foundation of management and the role of leadership."