Veteran banker Lynette Ortiz—a self-confessed adrenaline junkie who gets a thrill out of arranging complex deals—was running the country’s oldest foreign bank when she was asked to head state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. As the first Filipino country chief of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Philippines, she had steered the foreign bank to a banner year in the capital markets business even during the pandemic. But after 30 years of holding senior roles in risk management, treasury, corporate finance and capital markets, it’s time to heed the call of public service. Unlike her past employers, Landbank is a chartered institution with unique mandate and priorities. It has to think about small farmers and fisherfolk, agrarian reform beneficiaries, local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations and not just delivering profits. Will she last long in this challenging role? “I’d like to. I think the mark of a good leader is endurance, as well—not just mental but physical and emotional endurance and resiliency,” says this petite woman who is as disciplined in her workout routine as in her banking duties. If and when plans to merge with Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) push through, she may even end up running the country’s largest bank. However, she says this wasn’t part of her consideration when she took on this new role. “I was really at that point when I was prepared to serve and to give back in any capacity, and the fact that I was given this opportunity to be here in this post, I really consider it a blessing and an opportunity to really see how I can in any way, small or big, really contribute and parlay all of these banking skills I’ve learned,” she says in an interview with Inquirer. 3 decades of banking As the eldest among four siblings, Ortiz had high expectations to meet from the start. Her father, a lawyer and her mother, a music teacher, expected her to set the path for the other kids. After getting her degree in economics (cum laude) at the age of 19, she briefly worked in retail banking at Citibank Philippines, before heading to New York to pursue her Master of Business Administration degree (major in finance and investments) at the City University of New York Baruch College. After grad school, she was hired by Citibank New York to scrutinize the risk exposure of treasuries in Latin