Anik Tremblay works at KPMG on the Banking Advisory team. In her 2021 Spotlight Series interview, she discusses her motivations, her 2021 mantra, her passions, and much more.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am originally from Canada but I’ve been calling Hong Kong my home for the past ten years. Prior to moving here, I lived in Malaysia, Chile, Ecuador and Brazil, working in business development in a wide variety of industries. I love traveling, exploring, and trying new food. That’s probably why I lived in so many different places.
I started my career in financial services when I moved to Hong Kong. I’ve been with KPMG for the past three years, working in the Banking Advisory team with a focus on sustainable finance and regtech.
When I’m not in the office, you can find me running on the trails or riding my bike around town. I love this about Hong Kong. City to mountains within minutes.
What has kept you motivated to succeed this past year?
I have always been passionate about sustainability and being involved in financial services in Hong Kong has shown me how important sustainable finance is. As an international financial center, Hong Kong is well placed to become a green finance hub so I saw this as an interesting area to get more involved in. I started to get more involved in ESG related groups internally and outside the firm, and by taking some related training courses. Building my knowledge in this area has really been motivating. There’s so much to learn and so much positive momentum in this space.
What will be your 2021 mantra to keep you motivated, either professional or personally?
“Make a difference.” COVID has fundamentally changed the way a lot of people think about their work and what role work plays in their lives. Is what I am doing making a difference in the world? Am I making a difference in my workplace? And is what I am doing making me different? Am I improving, building up new skills, becoming a better person? So I ask myself everyday: “Am I making a difference?” And this is what keeps me motivated professionally and personally.
Aside from work, what are your other passions?
I am pretty sporty and I love being outside. In a busy place like Hong Kong, I think we all need an outlet and practicing outdoor activities has always been mine. Growing up, my parents always encouraged my brother and I to stay active and I spent most of my weekends and time off snowboarding in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. I discovered trail running in Hong Kong, after witnessing people zooming by me during my weekend hikes so I decided to give it a go. I got hooked immediately. Since then I’ve run ultra trail marathons around the world. This year I decided to try something new and began road cycling. It’s not as scary as I thought and I actually love exploring new areas and riding with friends. Besides making sure I get my training in during the week, I also try to motivate people to get out and be active. I’ve been involved with WISE (Women in Sports Empowered – www.wisewomenhk.com) for the past couple of years. This NGO champions sports for women and girls by using sport as a tool for empowerment. I’ve also been co-leading KPMG’s Hiking Group for the past two years. Before the pandemic, we used to organise regular monthly hikes and we hope to get back to our normal routine soon. The group currently has about 200 members (staff and alumni) and we usually have between 10 to 40 participants on our hikes. I miss that! It’s a really nice way to network with colleagues from other teams, outside of the office and show them different parts of Hong Kong. It’s great to work for a firm that encourages and promotes an active lifestyle.