I was fortunate enough to feature in the first edition of FinanceAsia in 1996. At the time, I was in Hong Kong, building out our recently-formed HSBC Markets business in Asia, and flying regularly to Beijing to meet with officials as China’s reform process gained momentum. Two years later, I found myself working closely with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and central banks around the region to stabilise markets and currencies as the Asian financial crisis erupted.