Former head of HSBC honoured

Former Chief Executive of HSBC, Mr Dyfrig John is presented as an Honorary Fellow by Professor Noel Lloyd.

Professor Lloyd's presentation.

Is-lywydd : braint a phleser yw cyflwyno Dyfrig John yn gymrawd o Brifysgol Aberystwyth.

Dyfrig John has followed an extremely successful career in banking and has very recently retired as Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of HSBC Bank, continuing as a non-executive director.

He had been Chief Executive since 2006, having previously Chief Operating Officer.  Most recently he had responsibility for the European operations of HSBC while retaining oversight of the UK operation.

This was a massive operation, worth many billions of pounds, and Dyfrig had responsibility for 44,000 members of staff.

Ganwyd Dyfrig yng Nglynderwen yn sir Benfro.  Roedd ei ewythr yn un o gweri astudiaethau hanes Cymru – roedd David Williams yn un o ddeiliaid cadair Sir John Williams am gyfnod hir o 1945 hyd 1967, cyfnod o wasanaeth clodiwiw.

I've just said that Dyfrig's uncle, Professor David Williams was a leading and influential historian of Wales, and held the Sir John Williams chair in Aberystwyth for the strikingly long period of 22 years from 1945.

Bu chwaer Dyfrif, Hafwen yn fyfyrwraig yma yn Aberystwyth, ond o Brifysgol Morgannwg a raddiodd ef. 

Immediately on completing his degree Dyfrig joined the Midland Bank as it then was, and a period on the Sloan Fellowship Programme at the London Business School followed, including a period of consultancy in the US.

Following a period as Retail Banking Director for Wales and South West England, Dyfrig left the UK in 1997 to become Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in India. 
In 1999 he moved to Malaysia as Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad.  Hence Dyfrig moved form Cardiff to Bombay, to Malaysia, before returning to the UK and now to Wales.

The banking industry is a highly pressurised environment, and extraordinarily so in recent times.  Throughout this period Dyfrig has maintained his natural good humour and enhanced his reputation for good sense and good judgement. 

He is on record in 2006 as being concerned about personal debt exposure. 

Dyfrig’s career is testament to the intensely global nature of our economy.  Perhaps the greatest change in our lifetimes had been the global influences that bear upon us in  all that we do – driven, of perhaps more correctly enabled,  by technological advance. 

This is as true of Higher Educations as of other sectors.  Global interconnections provide huge opportunity as well as significant challenge, and has enabled millions to escape from poverty.

Global growth will continue, and the effect on Europe of developments in the rapidly growing economies of Asia in particular will be profound.
Dyfrig has wide interests, and in particular on environmental issues and sustainability  – he is acutely aware of the social responsibility of large corporate companies such as HSBC.

He has also been involved in a number of other bodies : having served on the board of S4C and of what was the Development Board of Rural Wales. 

He chaired the Olympic Appeal in Wales in 1996 for the Atlanta games, and most recently has been involved in sponsorship of the Lions tour to South Africa.

Dyfrig has honorary awards from a number of universities, and it is a pleasure to recognise his accomplishments and achievements in Aberystwyth today.

Barchus Is-Lywydd : mae’n fraint i gyflwyno Dyfrig John yn gymrawd o Brifysgol Aberystwyth.