We’re thrilled to share that our CEO Caecilia Chu was awarded twice at recent The Financial Technology Awards 2020 for her leadership capabilities!
YouTrip CEO and co-founder Caecilia Chu bagged two awards at the annual The Financial Technology Awards 2020 – Top 25 Fintech CEOs in Asia and Top 25 Women Leaders in Fintech!
Out of 50 winners, Caecilia was the only recipient to receive the awards in both categories simultaneously. As Caecilia continues to make waves as a woman leader in fintech, we want to share this happy news with our YouTroopers, and hope to inspire budding entrepreneurs too!
Chase Your Dreams Relentlessly
Prior to founding YouTrip, Caecilia already had a list of accomplishments to her name. After graduating with her bachelor degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, she went on to get her MBA from Harvard Business School. She’s spent a big part of her career working in the banking industry at the likes of Citibank, McKinsey, and Luffax.
One thing that’s remained constant through the years is her belief that opportunities are not limited by gender, but only by a person’s size of ambitions, capabilities, and hard work.
By putting what’s she learnt over the years to solve the cross-border payment pain points she experienced on her business trips, she launched the first of its kind multi-currency mobile wallet in Singapore. Under her vision and leadership, YouTrip has grown to become one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in Southeast Asia.
A Supportive Environment
Caecilia credits her success to having a supportive environment. It’s this same belief that Caecilia has instilled in the heart of YouTrip’s culture, where everyone is given equal support and opportunities to succeed within an inclusive culture.
With gender equality being a big topic in a typically male-dominated industry, YouTrip’s culture plays an active role in closing this gap. It’s something we’ve done consciously, from our talent and recruitment strategy, to building our culture of inclusiveness and openness.
Which is why the two awards are a big deal to us – meeting the complex standards in the rapidly changing fintech industry is by no means an easy task. The CEOs and women leaders awarded in their respective categories have shown exceptional leadership in their own fields and impacted the success of their companies.
Caecilia is also one of the only two female CEOs to be awarded in the Top 25 Fintech CEO category – proving that woman professionals can achieve their wildest dreams too. She hopes to inspire more women professionals to step out of their comfort zones to pursue their ambitions, no matter which field they’re in.
“It’s an incredible honour to be recognised as top CEO in Asia and woman leader in financial technology, alongside the many great leaders of our industry. This pandemic has been the greatest test of our leadership like never before, but I also see it as an opportunity to emerge as a more cohesive and resilient company.”
Since our launch, YouTrip has become Singapore’s leading and largest multi-currency mobile wallet. We’ve also recorded a few achievements, like being the first fintech company in Singapore to obtain a direct issuer license from Mastercard, raising a Southeast Asian record pre-Series A funding of US$25.5 million, and launching YouTrip Thailand in partnership with Kasikornbank.
We’ve also witnessed a 300% quarterly growth compared to the same period in 2019, as a result of a successful pivot to overseas e-commerce payment.
And as the saying goes: “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work” – we hope that Caecilia’s entrepreneurial story has inspired you to chase your wildest dreams too!
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