Standard Chartered Bank's head of corporate affairs, brand and marketing for SG steps down

Sharon Lee (pictured), Standard Chartered Bank's head of corporate affairs, brand and marketing for Singapore, has stepped down from her position after just over two years in the role and a total of 12 years with the bank.

Lee announced her departure in a LinkedIn post where she revealed that she said "see you again soon" to the bank. 

"Choosing to be 'Out On My Own' #OOMO at this stage of my life is now probably the scariest decision I've made," she wrote before adding that she is hoping that leaving will give her the "space and time and energy" to focus on being mentally and physically healthy, enjoying travelling without the distraction of work, spending time with her partner in the US, perfecting her cooking skills, getting her coaching certification and working with her adult autistic son while also writing more. 

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Lee leaves after 12 years at the bank, serving in a multitude of roles. She joined the team in 2011 as its regional head of brand and sponsorships before moving up to regional head of internal communications for Singapore and ASEAN. She later added the South Asia market to her remit before moving up to head of brand and marketing for the Singapore, ASEAN and South Asia regions. In 2021, Lee was promoted to head of corporate affairs, brand and marketing for Singapore, a role she held for just over two years before resigning. 

Prior to joining Standard Chartered Bank, Lee worked as an account director at Freedman International. Before that, she spent just over two years at Forbes Asia as its marketing director and then later, its director of marketing and ad services.

The news comes as more in the industry opt to leave to pursue personal passions. Recently, Michel de Rijk stepped down from his role as chief executive officer APAC at Media.Monks and S4 Capital Group after four and a half years as he looked to focus on "different priorities in life", according to a LinkedIn post by the marketing veteran. 

In his post, de Rijk noted that his time at Media.Monks and S4 Capital Group was a "journey" in what was probably the "most difficult circumstances I could ever imagine".

When MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out, de Rijk said that he decided to leave to focus on himself and the ones he cares about. "After some reflection, it was clear that the trajectory I was on, was no longer good for either," he said. 

He added that he will take some time to recharge, learn new things and "tickle the brain" in a different way. 

"There are so many interesting developments, of course around AI and such, but I haven’t been able to focus on purposeful initiatives as much as I wanted to so that will be a priority," he said to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. 

When asked what his next steps will be, de Rijk noted that he is sure something will come along but that "it might or might not be in the world of marketing".

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