When Appa Sherpa stood on top of Sagarmatha for a record 13th time on the morning of 23 May 2003, he was carrying a flag of Nepal. But he also unfurled the banner of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), which sponsored his climb and also made him its Brand Ambassador.

The bank held a Town Hall Meeting on 4 June with all staff from its Kathmandu branches present. CEO Sujit Mundul presented Appa with a cheque for Rs 500,000 (see pic, right). Mundul said: "We are proud to have Appa Sherpa as the Standard Chartered Bank Brand Ambassador since he embodies our values of creativity, responsiveness, internationalism, courage and trustworthiness."

Appa then symbolically took the cheque over to the bank counter and cashed it. He also signed the bank's banner that was taken to the summit which will go on a tour of SCB branches and finally to the bank's headquarters in London. "It was a source of immense joy for us. Appa Sherpa carried with him the pride and aspirations of each and every staff member of Standard Chartered Bank to the Top of The World," said Anil Shah the head of consumer banking at Standard Chartered.

Appa said climbing Mt Everest is never easy, even if it is for the 13th time. There are so many challenges: the wind, the weather, human factors and the crowd on top. Appa Sherpa is 40 years old and was born in Thame, he is married to Yangi Sherpa and has two sons and two daughters. He first reached the top of Mt Everest in 1990 and has been doing it every year except 1996.