Bridget Lai

"I do think I have nerves of steel. I do best in a crisis, and I'm not afraid of a crisis,' says Alliance Bank Malaysia CEO

Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Bridget Lai faces an internal probe by her bosses, there's no doubt that she has built a respectable career over the past three decades.

Lai, 54, was reportedly courted by Temasek Holdings, the new shareholder in Alliance, for half a year before she took up the offer to head the bank in September 2005.

But her banking career can be traced back to the very bottom of the hierarchy - as a teller. She took on that temporary job at Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) in Sabah, where she grew up, while waiting for A-level results and acceptance to study law in the UK.The accidental banker did well in that job and her passion for the industry grew. So she stuck around and stayed with the same bank for more than 19 years.

Rising through the ranks, she eventually became the first Malaysian, and first woman, to head StanChart's consumer banking division in 1999.

Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd and its chief executive officer Datuk Bridget Lai have reached an amicable settlement of their on-going dispute. In a statement released on Thursday, Feb 25 both parties said that the dispute should, in the interest of the bank and shareholders, be resolved."In view of the differences of opinion between the board of directors of the bank and Datuk Bridget Lai that has risen over the last few months,

Datuk Bridget Lai has decided to tender her resignation from the bank with effect from April 1, 2010," the statement said.It went on to say that the decision was joint one between the bank and Lai, "and the resignation is not in any way a reflection of Datuk Bridget Lai".

We will miss her and her leadership