Featured Member: Allison Chin-Leong, VP of Public Affairs at Wells Fargo

Financial Narrative is proud to share the stories and accomplishments of our members. In this ongoing series, we’ll spotlight our members, what they’re doing with their careers and their views on current and emerging trends in financial marketing.

In a time of increased reflection and appreciation for connections, Allison Chin-Leong, Vice President of Public Affairs at Wells Fargo, shares her excitement about the increased focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. In a recent reflection on being Asian American in 2021, she highlights her own cultural heritage and work with  Wells Fargo’s Asian Connection ERN board and Enterprise Asian Connection that also helps #StopAsianHate. 

What are the trends in financial marketing and comms that have caught your attention and excite you in your career at the moment? 

A welcome trend that has caught my attention is a greater emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in telling the untold stories of our clients. Companies are not only embracing it, but they are also being more vocal and intentional about how they convey the business narrative through the relationship they have with their customers. For example, our Wells Fargo Stories platform gives a voice to small business owners, as they share their amazing journeys and tips about how others can be successful.

Another trend is the ability for financial marketing and communications professionals to react to and adjust strategies in real-time. With new tools, we can see if content is resonating with readers and this is very helpful in knowing what consumers want to know. In PR, we can quickly look at what’s trending, connect with subject matter experts about what people should know about an issue, and create timely pitches for reporters to tell the story.

While the impact of the pandemic continues to create seismic shifts in the banking industry, what are the challenging pivots and opportunities this has created for your role at Wells Fargo? 

The challenging pivots (not having the ability to meet face-to-face) have forced us to rethink how we do our work, why we have done things in a certain way, and what we can all do to be better in a virtual environment. The communications group is transforming how we support the business and this has provided me with a new opportunity to work with the Corporate & Investment Bank division doing media relations. I’m grateful that technology has enabled everyone to work more efficiently (sharing screens or Skypeing), stay connected with face-to-face meetings on Zoom, and created ways for people to network virtually through social media or groups like the Financial Narrative community.

What is the one piece of advice you would give now to someone looking to make a career in financial marketing? 

Start by looking at the people and companies you admire. You want alignment between similar values and a commitment to achieve financial marketing and communications objectives. You would want to put into practice what they are doing right. 

What is your favorite book/binge-worthy series/podcast right now? 

Manifest on Netflix/Hulu was a recent binge-worthy series because it was a nice bonding experience for my daughter and me this summer. Oftentimes there is a mix of morality and well-being that the characters need to come together to solve. We can’t wait to watch the fourth and final season!