Irene Wong, founder and CEO of ixFintech, talks about her sporting pursuits and their impact personally and professionally
Sport can lead to success on the global stage, but this is not limited to the pitch, field, court or track—having a sporting background has the potential to lead to business success too.
Studies have shown that the vast majority—more than 90 per cent, according to a study by consultants EY and women’s sports platform espnW—of women in C-suite positions played sport. Taking up sport later in life can also have a positive impact professionally.
To tie in with Paris 2024, our limited series Top of Her Game sees women currently or formerly in C-suite positions in a range of industries discuss their sporting journeys, the role of sport in their lives, and why they would encourage other women and girls to pursue sport. Here, Irene Wong, founder and CEO of ixFintech, a fintech platform focused on promoting financial literacy and improving the digital financial ecosystem, opens up.
Irene Wong was discovered by a sports agent and went on to play table tennis at a club level
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Have you always been interested in sport or did it come later? What’s your sporting journey?
My love for sport developed in childhood. My parents would take us to the playground in Hong Kong's Victoria Park every evening after dinner. We’d ride our bicycles and listen to the cicadas and we’d feel close to nature. We also went hiking every Sunday afternoon with my grandfather and cousins after the big family dim sum lunch, though sometimes these excursions were too tough for kids, from full-day hikes on Lantau Island to walks from Tai Tam to North Point.
I was first attracted to table tennis around the age of 3. The two red bats and the ball looked playful. I also loved the sound and rhythm of the sport—the sounds produced when the racket hits the ball and the ball hits the table.
I started playing at free youth clubs, such as The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association services centres. I’d line up for my game and here I got the chance to meet people from other cultures. I liked the excitement of table tennis: it drives you to face challenges; keeps you reviewing yourself—why you lost a point and what you could have done better; to keep learning and keep fighting. You also gain an understanding of your opponent. I learned to enjoy the process, not only the result.
In primary school, all the boys played table tennis, so I lined up to play them, but was teased for playing badly. Girls weren’t expected to play table tennis. I started practising at home, by arranging my dining table and putting cassette tapes together in the middle as a pretend net. I played with my two brothers and after a few years I went back and beat those same boys.
Around the age of 13, I was discovered by a sports agent, and I joined the Hong Kong, China Table Tennis Association. At boarding school in England I was table tennis captain and trained up the school team, as well as playing for the local pub team, before going on to play for my university in London. During the summer holidays, when I was back in Hong Kong, I taught table tennis in the YWCA. But, after I graduated and started my career, the many professional exams I had to take meant I stopped playing table tennis for almost 10 years. That was until I joined Hang Seng Bank. The bank supported table tennis, and that triggered me to return to the game and to competition. But, I treated it as leisure, not as a job, as I had when I was young.