David Kuo: From Hoop Dreams to Banking Professional (With a Heart of Gold) 郭劍民：「球」勝之道

ENGLISH 英 : Shinan Govani | CHINESE 中 : Maggie Ho

VENUE: Royal Bank Tower
ART DIRECTION: Deborah Lau-Yu
Photography: Calvin Lee
COORDINATION & VIDEO PRODUCTION: Fête Chinoise Team

“I call myself 1.5 generation,” quips David Kuo.

Not first generation - “not really second generation.”

As one of the most influential figures in Canadian banking and the game-changing founder of the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletics Association (CCYAA), Kuo was unraveling the many layers of his multi-faceted identity during our interview for this magazine article. His wife and in-laws are from Hong Kong, his father was originally from China and moved to Taiwan, his mother is Taiwanese, and Kuo himself works here as an all-in Canadian. This unique combination has positioned him well to interact with people from various Chinese backgrounds, blending the East and the West.

籃球與銀行，原是風馬牛不相及兩碼子的事，對於加拿大皇家銀行分行聯網合併主管(Head of Branch Network Integration) 郭劍民(David)來說，銀行是他的工作及專業，而籃球則是他生命中不可或缺的一部分。從青少年時期起，這項群體運動塑造了他永遠向前的個性、同時擴大其人際網絡，一步一步伴隨他度過青春期、經歷移民適應期；時至今日，由他一手創建的公益事業，亦致力培育青少年籃球訓練，回饋社會。

“I can read and write Chinese, and I still have a lot of Eastern culture embedded in me, but I studied and worked here, so I have Western values,” he says. “It’s a blend. In fact, I have elderly clients who say in Chinese, ‘I can relate to you, but you are also young enough to look after my adult children and communicate with their children!’”

Despite his friendly and upbeat personality today—he looks as if he could play the Hot Dad in a Netflix series—Kuo’s life has been quite a ride. Before landing his gig as Regional Head of Branch Network for Ontario at HSBC, where he oversees 47 branches, he held the role of District Vice President for Metro Toronto from 2007 to 2012. But even back then, his life story could’ve easily been the plot of an Amy Tan novel.

Think: Boy meets Girl. In his case, his father, a surgeon, met and married a nurse, his mother. “Typical story,” says Kuo. Tragically, his mother died when he was six, prompting a move to the other side of the world. A patient of his father, whose life had been saved by him and who had recently moved to California, offered to take in young David as a way of repaying the karmic debt.

離家的日子

David於台灣出生及成長，父母親分別任職醫生及護士，家境小康；小小年紀經歷母親去世，自15歲起離開台灣，獨自在異地寄宿生活，訓練出其獨立、堅毅的個性。「一開始在美國加州洛杉磯住了一年，16歲那年寄住的家庭搬到德州，我便跟隨他們在德州住了一年。」他坦言初到北美生活並不容易，儘管寄住家庭是父親的世交，他們已盡可能地把他當成一分子，禮待他如同親兒，然而始終有見外之處，生活上的大小事情David也只能自行解決。

David在德州侯斯頓的學校非常注重籃球，該校球隊於州內排名第一，全國排名第十，因此球隊的訓練也特別繁重。身為校隊成員的David，每天要在早上上課前、午餐後，及下課後接受訓練。「我的訓練時間表跟寄住家庭其他各人不同，不可能為遷就我一個而額外接送，所以我要自行安排上下課。為了可以配合校隊訓練，我便每天步行40分鐘上課及下課。」

It was a generous gesture but not without its challenges, especially for a teenager not knowing the language. “Living with another family is not easy. They had another son,” Kuo says. “They tried to include me as a family member. Initially, it was okay. But over a longer period, it was not easy.”

But a couple of good things came out of that period in his life. First, “I learned to wash dishes very well!” (Kuo took on this menial task daily to show gratitude to his new guardians — ending up with a skill his wife appreciates today.) Second, he fell in love with basketball, particularly when he moved to Houston with his chosen family. That move changed everything.

Landing at a school ranked number one in basketball in Texas and number ten in the USA that year, with huge pep rallies and monster home games, it was the kind of place where “you kinda walk on water if you are an athlete,” Kuo says. He quickly improved, making the grade 10 basketball team as the only Asian player, and learning the power of sport. “Through basketball, my English really improved,” he adds. Plus, he made lots of friends. Fast. “There was an integration factor, too. It really helped me form different friendships—with people from different walks of life. Sports can be a common language for teenagers. I owe a lot to basketball.”

校園風雲人物

為了熱愛的籃球運動，David可謂拼盡全力。「我在台灣時已經很喜歡打籃球，而且也打得不錯，可是當跟北美水平比較，便仍有很大的距離。自從到了洛杉磯，我一直用心鍛鍊，到了侯斯頓更是拼盡全力。」他深明亞洲人先天個子不高，只有勤能補拙。「當你不是最高大、也不是得天獨厚，只能靠不斷努力。努力練習，不一定會取得勝利；但不努力的話，根本就沒有取勝的機會。」憑努力、堅韌，David不但成為唯一入選校隊的亞洲人，更成為隊中的模範。即使跑圈是訓練中最沒趣的部分，但他一直跑得比其他人快，隊友都在跟着他跑。

自加入籃球校隊，與其他不同背景的籃球隊員相處下來，那個原本要上ESL班、毫不起眼的孤獨小子改變了不少，朋友多了，英語亦流利了；高中那年入選溫哥華高中籃球明星隊之餘，更當上隊長，風頭一時無兩。

What made him gifted as a player? “It was the hustle factor,” Kuo says. “When you are not the tallest or the most gifted, you just have to believe in hard work. If you practice hard, you may not win every game or make every team, but if you do not practice hard, you do not have that chance.”

Those early years also changed him profoundly by harnessing “empathy for other people.” Knowing what it means to feel like an outsider, rootless within a family and a new country, is a knowledge he carried when he eventually moved to Vancouver, where he was reunited with his dad and continued his love of basketball.

He became captain of his new school team in B.C., was selected as a Vancouver High School Basketball All-Star, and was one of the top high school players that year. David was well-known in school, recognized as one of the most popular senior students. Despite his popularity, he always reached out to international students, remembering how it felt to be excluded.

善用籃球智商

「籃球令我得著很多，本來我在其他同學眼中很不同，但當我跟他們一起打籃球，很自然地玩成一片。」回想年青歲月，David自覺幸運，因為籃球擴闊了他的生活，改寫了他的人生。

昔日於籃球場上的訓練，令David勇於接受挑戰，其領導能力於團隊工作中更是出類拔萃。自畢業後，他在金融業工作近27年，由基金經理晉升至銀行管理層，昔日於加拿大匯豐銀行帶領550人的專業團隊，近期更於加拿大皇家銀行及加拿大匯豐銀行合併中擔任重要角色，確保交接期間服務及運作不受影響。他自言金融銀行也在不斷改變：「昔日單方面銷售產品，到今日轉變成以客為先，更需要於客戶角度分析及提供合適的理財方案。」靈活應對不同文化、快速的應變能力，是今日金融服務業必備的條件。David卓越的表現一直深受客戶歡迎、備受公司器重，同時廣受業界肯定，於2012年獲得「英女王鑽石禧年獎」、2013年獲華商網絡協會頒發「紅楓傳奇」獎(Chinese Canadian Legend Award)。

All of this culminated when he started the CCYAA at the University of Toronto. Initially planning a youth basketball tournament, it grew into an official non-profit in 1995, promoting physical activity, leadership development, and community involvement among youth.

“Over 100 teams for a charity 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the parking lot and inside of Pacific Mall,” Kuo recalls, focusing on the scale of what he has built.

The CCYAA has continued to grow, even spawning its own Celebrity Classic in Toronto, featuring stars like Simu Liu and Jeremy Lin.

Kuo is especially proud that many of the earliest youth players are now part of the leadership team, with their own children participating in CCYAA activities.

親身感受過亞裔青年在成長時所面對的社交困難， David在就讀多倫多大學期間創立加華青年體育會（CCYAA），透過舉辦籃球聯賽、訓練營及其他聯誼活動，連繫華人留學生及新移民學生。「那時候來自香港和台灣的留學生會聚在一起唱卡拉OK，我便想透過籃球連繫大家。」就這樣由小小的友誼比賽和聯校活動開始，CCYAA發展至今近三十年，現已成為服務超過2000多名青少年的慈善團體。

大學時代David同時擔任學生會會長，致力為華人學生及社群爭取權益，宣揚多元文化。畢業後在公在私亦不忘貢獻華人社會，先後擔任多倫多台商會會長、加拿大中國專業人士協會(CPAC)及加拿大傑出華裔創業家選舉委員會等顧問工作。

Though his own hoop dreams were dashed—a broken wrist ended his promising start at UofT—he built a sports legacy. He became President of the UofT Chinese Student Association and was elected to the Student Council.

Reflecting on his career, Kuo acknowledges that sport was his entry into volunteering and personal development. His dedication as a volunteer led to his first job in banking, and he continues to volunteer, including serving as president of a business association and on advisory boards for various charities.

Led a team of 550 banking professionals at HSBC, Kuo has received numerous awards for his leadership, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award and the Canadian Chinese Legend Award. Kuo also played a key role in the successful transition following RBC's acquisition of HSBC Canada. He attributes much of his success to the values instilled in him by his father, whose experiences profoundly shaped Kuo’s understanding of resilience and empathy.

「我不會忘記自己的根。父親當年在台灣是最頂尖的心臟科醫生，受人敬重；可是移民到溫哥華後，卻因為英語不靈光，申請銀行卡、買車等生活大小事情均要依賴我的幫助。」眼見昔日了不起的父親，一下子因為移民後言語不通而變得無助、無能為力，這些經歷在David內心留下不滅的烙印，也成為他念念不忘回饋社會的動力。

“In Asia, he was a super-dad and a famous cardiologist. But in Vancouver, he was just a new immigrant. I had to help him with everything, from getting a health card to buying a car. It was not easy for me, and obviously very difficult also for him,” Kuo shares. This experience profoundly shaped Kuo’s understanding of the immigrant experience. “It was hard to see my father become vulnerable because of a language barrier. And I always remember that when I interact with newcomers today.”

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