Wee is applying the same mindset to the way he runs the bank. As the most conservative of the local banks, UOB can be said to be re-energised by the first major acquisition since he took over as the CEO in 2007.
Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and group CEO of United Overseas Bank (UOB) (SGX:U11
) , is an avid hiker and trekker. Less well known are Wee’s green fingers, as shown by the numerous bonsai plants dotting the office floor he shares with his father, chairman emeritus Wee Cho Yaw, and chairman Wong Kan Seng.
For Wee, tending to the bonsai plants is not merely a hobby. “You have to trim them constantly. It’s not easy. Every one or two years you have to take out the roots and energise the roots. If the root is too old and no longer growing, you have to cut it, change the soil and ensure enough sunlight and drainage. This is all discipline, perseverance,” Wee explains in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
