What it Takes to be Among the Top Singapore 100 Women in Technology
Ang Li Khim and Subhasree Basu reflect on their journeys in tech
By Charmaine Tai
For four years since 2020 – excluding its 2022 hiatus – SG100WIT, also known as the Singapore 100 Women in Tech, has recognised those who’ve demonstrated excellence in technology, innovation, and leadership while making a positive impact on the communities they’re in. Past years’ recipients include those from Amazon Web Services, A*STAR, GovTech, and IBM.
This year, both nominees from DBS, Ang Li Khim, managing director and regional head of Institutional Banking Group Technology (IBGT), along with Subhasree Basu, vice president of Middle Office Technology (MOT), were inducted into the SG100WIT hall of fame. Here, they share more about the projects they’ve spearheaded, and what it means to be recognised as a leader in technology.
In a nation where paper credentials wield substantial influence over one’s professional trajectory, Li Khim has gone against the grain to prove that academic qualifications do not exclusively determine the trajectory of one’s career. What holds greater significance is the resolve to persist and embrace setbacks as part of the journey.
As the overall technology lead for four platforms – IBG Digital and Assisted Digital Channels, Global Transaction Services (Cash, Trade Finance and Securities Fiduciary Services), IBG Lending Products, and Payment Utilities – Li Khim has helmed numerous award-winning projects.
These include migrating the technical stack of Swift AMH FAST/ PayNow processing to a cloud-native platform, and launching a cross-border PayNow-UPI system between Singapore and India. She’s also a core team lead in the Industry Sunsetting Cheque Working group, driving electronic deferred payments when corporate cheques are phased out at the end of 2025 in Singapore.
With these notable achievements under her belt, it may be hard to believe that Li Khim is one of the rare few in her field without a degree. She further reveals having struggled with the English language as a student, only passing the Cambridge O-Levels English Language examinations after five attempts.
This steely resolve saw her plunging into the working world while earning professional certifications in computer science and accounting. Following her 17-year career at a British multinational bank, Li Khim joined DBS in 2013 as a project manager, supporting institutional banking customers, and rising to spearhead local and regional regulatory initiatives.
Corporations also have Li Khim to thank for introducing fuss-free banking. She has led teams to provide open account trading, launch a secure digital documents exchange, and implement a cash investigation workflow – an in-house solution that automatically looks into and solves payment issues.
These projects have enabled her teams (and DBS) to bag no fewer than 20 globally recognised awards, including Global Finance’s Best Bank for Cash Management (Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, and Asia Pacific) and The Asset’s Best Transaction Bank (Singapore, and Asia Pacific). Li Khim credits her teams for ensuring the success and recognition of multiple projects, humbly expressing that none of it could have happened without close collaboration with others.
Sowing The Seed
The media-shy technologist also admits that she would have not thrown her hat into the ring for this award if not for her manager’s persuasion. What makes this recognition even sweeter is that it celebrates her decade-long career at DBS.
Work aside, Li Khim recognises the importance of mentorship, having received the guidance of many throughout the years. She pays it forward by taking others under her wing, regardless of their career stage. “As long as you are willing to learn, I will invest my time to help you build a successful career,” she says.
Her efforts are evident in her mentee, Lee Yue Ning’s, journey. In 2018, as a fresh graduate, Yue Ning joined DBS’ SEED programme, a two-year traineeship that sees technologists picking up hands-on skills. Under Li Khim’s guidance, Yue Ning gained the confidence and skills to lead discussions regarding the digitalisation of Singapore’s payment network, and rose to the rank of assistant vice president in just six years.
Looking at how far Li Khim has come, one can’t help but wonder if the tech leader ever saw herself being where she is today. To that, she laughs and shakes her head.
“You can’t predict how your career path will unfold. But that shouldn’t matter. What we can do is to continue giving our best efforts every day, adopt a growth mindset, and grab opportunities when they present themselves. It also helps to surround yourself with the right people who can mould you into a better version of yourself,” she says.
What do banking technology and the human brain have in common? Plenty, it seems. Just ask Subhasree, the driving force behind the numerous artificial intelligence (AI)-based projects at DBS.
“It excites me knowing that technology can emulate our cognitive process. This drove me to study computer science,” she shares. “When I did my Master’s degree, I remember thinking: What if machines could think like us, reduce toil, and add value to the work we do?”
It’s with this thought that led the Machine Learning (ML) engineer – who specialises in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and multimodal analytics – and her team of data scientists and developers to design solutions for DBS.
One example is Automated Financial Analysis (AutoFIN), which generates a first-draft financial analysis for relationship managers (RMs) processing corporate credit applications. In 2019, when she first joined DBS, RMs were manually evaluating annual reports from credit applicants and generating recommendations. Her team built a system that produced five- to 10-page summaries based on the annual reports, freeing the RMs to focus on in-depth analyses.
“The AI landscape then wasn’t as advanced as it is now. We had to find ways to add value to our RMs who already had decades of experience and insight,” she says.
While the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) of AutoFIN originated from a rules-based approach, it progressively integrated emerging technologies such as AI/ML, NLP, and Deep Learning, resulting in a complete ML pipeline that refined models. In 2022, AutoFIN clinched Hackett Group Inc.’s Digital Awards, and was named Celent’s Model Risk Manager of the Year.
“This was quite an achievement,” Subhasree smiles, adding, “From a machine learning standpoint, not many can lay claim to creating an automatic retraining pipeline within the bank”.
The Limits of Technology
Subhasree’s passion for technology has also led her to create an AI-backed multimodal archival system, the first of its kind for DBS. The team experimented with image processing models like FaceNET and NLP models like Spacy to handle diverse data types, including news articles, images, videos, and podcasts.
And while AI, and generative AI (GenAI) by extension, are used in an increasing number of projects around the globe, the computer scientist, who has a PhD and a post-doctorate in her chosen field, is confident that these technologies wouldn’t take over the world. Not anytime soon, anyway, she says.
Giving the analogy of an artist and a painting, Subhasree explains, “Like an artist, AI has the ability to identify elements, such as dark clouds and rain, to paint a rainy day landscape. However, the quintessential elements of introspection, imagination, and exploration are missing, and I don’t think AI will achieve that level of human perspective. It can’t dream up something that doesn’t exist,” she says.
Leading And Learning From The Future Generation
AI talk aside, how does Subhasree feel, being acknowledged as one of Singapore’s top 100 women in technology?
“Validated,” she says without missing a beat. “Especially when you’re recognised for your hard work, and are part of a group that’s motivated to use technology to do even more.”
And indeed she does as she says. Outside of work, Subhasree spends much of her time making a difference in others’ lives. To inspire more females to enter STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), Subhasree mentors final-year Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students, guiding them as they build their resumes and prepare for polytechnic education. She also volunteers at HealthServe – a charity that looks after the mental and physical health of migrant workers in Singapore – as a translator during counselling sessions.
While helping others, the mentoring sessions have also enriched Subhasree’s perspective. “We learn from each other. Adults aren’t the only ones struggling. The younger generation has 12- to 14-hour days like us, albeit in different ways, yet they’re resilient through it all. It’s heartening to witness their positivity,” she reflects.
Charmaine Tai is T&O’s resident typewriter.
