Phillip Bank CFO on Cambodia's Evolving Financial Sector and Women in Leadership

As Chief Financial Officer of Phillip Bank Plc, Chantheara Sok oversees the financial strategy of one of Cambodia’s leading commercial banks, guiding the institution through a period of digital transformation, innovation, and continued growth. Having built her career from the early days of Cambodia’s microfinance sector through its evolution into modern commercial banking, she has witnessed firsthand the remarkable development of the Kingdom’s financial industry over the past two decades. Her experience spans auditing, microfinance, and commercial banking, providing a unique perspective on the sector’s transformation. Today, she continues to play a key role in strengthening financial performance, corporate governance, and long-term strategic planning while supporting the bank’s commitment to financial inclusion and sustainable growth. In this edition of 50 Khmer Women Voices 2026, Chantheara reflects on Cambodia’s evolving banking sector, the future of digital finance and artificial intelligence (AI), the importance of financial literacy, women’s leadership in finance, and the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly dynamic industry. From Microfinance to Commercial Banking CLR: You have witnessed Cambodia’s financial sector evolve from the early days of microfinance to today’s increasingly sophisticated commercial banking landscape. What have been the most significant changes that you have observed throughout your career? Chantheara: When I started in credit at KREDIT Microfinance, our scope covered only loans and deposits. Following our merger to become Phillip Bank, commercial banking introduced a highly diversified landscape—expanding into trade business, payment solutions, and digital advancements. This merger required a profound shift as we adapted to Singapore working standards, anchored with integrity. Transitioning from a local credit team at KREDIT to a Singaporean corporate structure was initially difficult due to the culture change. Our team struggled with communication; we used to speak only Khmer, whereas this new environment exposed us to foreign colleagues and English, causing initial miscommunication. Aligning with Singapore’s corporate expectations meant establishing higher professional demands, structured roles, and strict institutional integrity. Overcoming these barriers came down to our commitment to improvement, to make a change. People adapted, learned, and developed themselves. Today, the organization is stabilized and everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. Looking ahead, technology and AI solutions are pushing us toward digital platforms. Our strategy will focus on that path—more online, as more people are using digital pathways to perform transactions. Financial Inclusion and Economic Development CLR: Microfinance has played an important role in expanding access to financial services in Cambodia. How do you see the sector continuing to support entrepreneurs, families, and businesses? Chantheara: The financial sector still plays a vital role in economic development, but our focus is shifting away from traditional microfinance. While we still provide micro-loans to support small entrepreneurs and families, our ultimate aspiration is to help people upgrade. We want to be the enabler for ambitious people—banking their long-term ambitions rather than just managing their current baseline. This requires a mix of proper financial advice and education. To achieve this at the community level, we work closely with KPY, our local NGO partner focused on financial literacy. Financial literacy is essential for those who currently have a limited understanding of financial services, and through KPY, we help them build a correct foundational understanding of money management. Once that foundation is set, we look at how to help them scale further up the economic ladder. Currently, product offerings in Cambodia are still quite small; even wealthy families with significant capital often just purely put their money into fixed deposits. In the future, I want to see more sophisticated products introduced so they have genuine investment options. By learning to leverage bank loans to expand their businesses while maintaining liquidity for new opportunities, ambitious Cambodians can manage their financial growth from a much stronger position. Women in Cambodia’s Financial Sector CLR: The banking industry has seen more women step into leadership positions in recent years. From your perspective, what progress has been made and what opportunities remain for the next generation of women leaders in finance? Chantheara: This is a very good question for Cambodian women. As a developing country, families historically might have chosen to send a son to school over a girl if they could only support one child. Today, access to education is opening up regardless of gender. We see major progress, with many women in leadership across the private sector and the financial industry. Our Central Bank Governor is a top female leader and a great role model for how women contribute to organizational improvement. Regarding future opportunities, I do not believe they are divided by gender. Opportunities should not be dictated by gender, but by capacity and skill. As long as we build our skills, maintain a strong capacity, and remain committed to our professions, plenty of opportunities will be there waiting. Leadership in a Changing Banking Environment CLR: As CFO of Phillip Bank, how do you approach leadership and financial management as the sector adapts to digitalization, changing customer expectations, and evolving economic conditions? Chantheara: Banking has changed completely, moving from cash and ATMs to phone QR scans. With everything shifting to digital platforms, cyber security will be a key focus. My role is no longer just maintaining financial stability, but driving business strategies that use financial data and AI to modernize our operational processes. To demonstrate Singapore excellence, we look to their highly integrated and regulated market to elevate our internal practices and introduce innovative products. However, because Cambodia’s landscape and regulations are still developing, we must work anchored from local insights to cater to the needs of the people. We actively collaborate with local regulators, learning this new landscape together as industry practitioners. Ultimately, the key to success is to keep innovating. Everything is new—even with AI, I keep learning every day. True leadership requires talking directly to the younger generation to understand their expectations, and listening to our customers to solve their specific problems. Advice for Future Finance Leaders CLR: Having built a career across different stages of Cambodia’s financial sector development, what advice would you give to young Cambodian women interested in pursuing careers in banking, finance, and corporate leadership?