Richard Hill, chief executive of Standard Charted Bank Korea, has proven his leadership by harmonizing sustainable management with long-term corporate contributions to the local community, bank officials said.

They said he has shown strong leadership in promoting both shared growth and social contributions to local communities to help the company develop sustainable growth.

Hill joined Standard Chartered in January 2006 as chief financial officer in the financial group’s unit in Singapore.

In January 2008, he relocated to Seoul to take up his position as executive vice president, chief financial officer and head of strategy of what was then Standard Chartered First Bank. In December 2009, he became the president and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Korea.

Under the British chief’s tenacity in sharing, the Korean operation of the British financial group was able to build a reputation as the No. 1 bank supporting physically or intellectually impaired people, bank officials said.

“The Beautiful Companionship,” the slogan of the sharing campaign, has become a common code that underscore the bank’s dedications for the handicapped people.

Hill’s successful charity operations come from his understanding of what handicapped people truly need to blend into the society.

Insisting on the sub-slogan “Seeing is Believing,” Hill organized a 100-day donation campaign to raise a 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) charity fund ― 1 billion won from local fundraising and an additional 500 million won from Standard Chartered Group ― that were used to aid the visually handicapped individuals.

He allotted 1 billion won for visually handicapped people from Vietnam to receive eye surgery to restore their vision. The remaining 500 million won was donated to aid visually handicapped Koreans and vision-related nongovernmental organizations such as Heart-Heart Welfare Organization.

Among many proposals to support the intellectually impaired students, the chief executive chose to donate a school bus to a school for intellectually disabled students in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 26.

The parents of intellectually disabled students generally have difficulties trying to send their children ― who are often unruly ― to school safely. State-subsidized cabs for disabled passengers are in high demand but scarce in number, and the bank’s donation was praised for its practicality.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)