This week in PostMag: women in charge, Shaquille O’Neal and Aryna Sabalenka

To be entirely honest, we started calling this edition The Power Issue in passing, and then the name just stuck. And really, it fits. What else do you call a line-up that includes a basketball icon turned business juggernaut, three of Hong Kong’s most influential finance leaders and a world No 1 tennis star who is not afraid to talk a little trash?

Let’s start with Shaq. Mathew Scott heads to Macau, where the sports legend is front and centre for the NBA’s return to China after a six-year pause. I had no real NBA allegiance growing up – could barely name a team – but I can picture the Kazaam VHS cover with alarming clarity. Shaquille O’Neal has always been more than just a player. These days, he’s a global brand-builder, president of Reebok Basketball, Asia expansion frontman for Authentic Brands Group and, yes, a DJ who goes by DJ Diesel. (Please look him up.)

Then, in a plot twist I didn’t see coming, I spent time with three of Hong Kong’s top women in finance. Me, whose strength certainly does not lie in numbers. Mercifully, there wasn’t a spreadsheet in sight. I chatted with Amy Lo Choi-wan of UBS, Mary Huen Wai-yi of Standard Chartered and Bonnie Chan Yiting of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, all members of the Women Chief Executives network (WCE), which, after starting with a few informal get-togethers, is now 60 members strong and hosting its first summit this week in Hong Kong. We talked about what it takes to rise, how they’re paying it forward and why a casual lunch club is now reshaping the leadership landscape.

Rounding out the power surge is Aryna Sabalenka, newly crowned US Open champion and now tennis’ undisputed world No 1. In town recently for the Prudential NextGen Aces panel, she was candid with Aaina Bhargava about the pressures of being top dog and the joy in fighting for every point. Her plans for the near future? Beating Nick Kyrgios in a cheeky Battle of the Sexes (an apt nod to the path-breaking 1973 match where Billie Jean King whooped big-mouth Bobby Riggs).

We’ve also got some plans of our own to announce. Today’s issue is the first under our new publishing cadence. A year ago, we rebranded from Post Magazine to PostMag with the goal of evolving from a weekly print title into a cultural brand that meets you wherever you are: online, in print and increasingly in person.

In that spirit, we’re shifting to a fortnightly print schedule. You’ll now find us in the Sunday Morning Post every other Sunday (next on November 16), and in between, on SCMP.com/postmag and Instagram (@scmp_postmag). We’re also building out a programme of PostMag community events. I look forward to meeting you at one of them soon.

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