She walked back into the workforce after five years at home, marched into Merrill Lynch without a client list, and proposed the following deal: If I'm successful, you pay me. If I'm not, you don't.

They gave her the job.

Evonne Tan is a wealth management professional who now advises some of Asia's wealthiest families. She spent 27 years in finance across multiple countries, including a 5-year career break to raise her children, returning with a demotion. In this conversation with Uma and Jingjin, she unpacks everything nobody tells you about stepping away and coming back: why demanding a guaranteed return keeps you trapped, why "you can have it all" just needs a time qualifier, and why what goes on your life CV matters as much as your career CV.

In This Episode

00:00 | Does the System Really Allow Women to Pause?

02:23 | From Deutsche Bank VP to Starting Over in Wealth Management

04:29 | Why Accepting a Demotion Is Actually a Power Move

04:58 | You Can Have It All — Just Not at the Same Time

09:23 | Finding Your North Star When You Don't Have Clarity

13:05 | "Pay Me Nothing — I'm Variable Cost": The Merrill Lynch Pitch

14:39 | Cultural Expectations and the Courage to Defy Them

17:16 | Enjoy the Flowers on the Road — Evonne's Philosophy of Life

20:51 | "I Have Two Hands, Two Feet, a Degree — I'll Be Fine"

23:35 | The Life CV: How to Reframe a Career Gap on Your Resume

27:59 | The Double Guilt of Working Mothers

30:12 | How the Break Transformed Evonne — She Left a Girl, Came Back Wiser

31:04 | Supportive Spouse, Finances, and Acknowledging Privilege

35:32 | "It's Our Money" — Financial Agency During a Career Break

37:57 | Invest in Yourself — The One Thing Nobody Can Take Away

38:59 | Energy Management and Compartmentalizing Your Brain

Evonne is a senior wealth management professional based in Singapore who advises some of Asia's most prominent families. She spent 17 years building her career in financial markets — including heading the FX desk at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong — before taking a 5-year career break to raise her children. She re-entered the workforce in a deliberate pivot to wealth management, accepting a demotion to associate director to build a new client base from scratch. In 2021, Business Times named her one of the most prominent hires when Barclays Private Bank returned to Singapore. She is a mentor at FWA (Financial Women's Association).

Evonne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evonne-tan-27a8663b

Raw With Uma

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