Permanent Advisors
Kevin Chou
Rafael Contreras Morales
Rafael Contreras Morales
With over 38 years of dedicated service in the financial industry, I have had the privilege of witnessing and actively participating in the evolution of Taiwan’s banking sector. My career journey, spanning from the Taichung Eighth Credit Cooperative to Makoto Bank (now Shin Kong Bank), is defined by a progression from frontline operations
With over 38 years of dedicated service in the financial industry, I have had the privilege of witnessing and actively participating in the evolution of Taiwan’s banking sector. My career journey, spanning from the Taichung Eighth Credit Cooperative to Makoto Bank (now Shin Kong Bank), is defined by a progression from frontline operations to high-level executive leadership.
Core Expertise & Qualifications:
* Branch Operations & Leadership: Proven track record as Branch Manager and Assistant Vice President, specializing in cross-regional business development and performance management.
* Comprehensive Financial Services: Deeply experienced in credit lending, foreign exchange, deposits, and securities settlement.
The most significant milestone was navigating the 1998 transition from a credit cooperative to a commercial bank. This was a dual challenge of systems and culture:
1. Process Optimization: I had to lead my team to rapidly adopt the more rigorous credit underwriting and international operational standards of a commercial bank.
2. Client Retention: We successfully migrated traditional, local credit cooperative clients into a modern banking ecosystem while maintaining their deep-rooted trust.
3. Leadership Stability: As a manager, I ensured my staff felt secure and motivated amidst the uncertainty of the merger.
This experience taught me that true transformation is not just about upgrading software, but about upgrading mindsets and professional culture. It instilled in me the agility to lead diverse branches through any market change.
Rafael Contreras Morales
Rafael Contreras Morales
Rafael Contreras Morales
As a founding director of Contreras Earl Architecture trained in the fields of Architecture and Urban Design. Rafael was born in Lima and also gained his professional architecture certification in Peru from the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC) and co-founded his first architecture firm in 2004. He is a registered Architect i
As a founding director of Contreras Earl Architecture trained in the fields of Architecture and Urban Design. Rafael was born in Lima and also gained his professional architecture certification in Peru from the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC) and co-founded his first architecture firm in 2004. He is a registered Architect in Peru.
He later received a Masters of Architecture and Urbanism (Design Research Laboratory) at the Architectural Association in London, where his thesis project received Distinction and was widely published.
Rafael’s years of experience and unique design skills saw him leading international teams working in Zaha Hadid Architect’s (ZHA) exclusive ‘design cluster’ in London where he worked directly under Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher (current ZHA Principal).
For 7 years Rafael was design leader at ZHA on major commissions and competition winning bids such as the Grand Theatre in Rabat Morocco, the Tokyo National Stadium and the New Beijing Daxing Airport (world’s largest airport terminal).
Moreover during his time at ZHA Rafael was Lead Designer and Project Architect of large-scale luxury residential and mixed-use projects in Australia such as Mayfair St. Kilda, Melbourne, Grace on Coronation Toowong, Brisbane and Mariners Cove Gold Coast.
After Zaha Hadid Architects Rafael co-founded Contreras Earl Architecture together with Monica Earl in 2016. Currently the practice is based in Sydney, Australia and is delivering a number of large scale mixed-use and landmark projects on Queensland’s Gold Coast.