General Counsel, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank
Mr Gerard Sanders joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as General Counsel in August 2016. For the previous two years, he was General Counsel at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized agency of the United Nations, working at its headquarters in Rome. Previously, Mr Sanders held various positions at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development working in its principal office in London, most recently as Deputy General Counsel. Earlier in his career, Mr Sanders worked for the law firms in Wellington, Washington, D.C. and Amsterdam and in a corporate legal role in London.
Mr Sanders graduated B.Com., LL.B. from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and has graduate law degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and Harvard Law School. He is qualified to practice law in New Zealand, the State of Victoria, Australia, and England and Wales. He is a Chartered Accountant (NZ). Mr Sanders is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. He is Visiting Professorial Fellow at Queen Mary, University of London, and Founding Editor of 'Law in transition'.
Director & Managing Partner, Hong Kong, McKinsey & Company, Inc. Hong Kong
Joe Ngai is currently the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Greater China office, which comprises of 550 consultants across offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Taipei. Previously he has led McKinsey’s Financial Institution practice and Private Equity practice. He has led many large-scale transformation efforts for Chinese as well as multi-national institutions. He has advised on various topics including strategy, operations transformation, mergers & acquisitions and organization transformation. He is the co-author of two editions of “Life Insurance in Asia”, a leading publication in its field. He speaks frequently on financial, management and social enterprise topics.
Joe has been appointed to various Government advisory committees, including the Financial Services Development Council and the Financial Infrastructure Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. He is a Board Member of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, the Antiquities Advisory Board and the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme.
He is also passionate about and active with several organizations on social enterprise and education topics. He is the Chairman of DiamondCab, an award-winning social enterprise, a director of Diocesan Boys’ School Foundation, and a former president of the Harvard Business School Association of Hong Kong.
A HK native, Mr. Ngai received his A.B. in economics from Harvard University as well as his JD and MBA from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.
Director of Research, Hong Kong Trade Development Council
Nicholas Kwan, Director of Research of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), a statutory body set up in 1966 to promote Hong Kong’s external business. Nick manages a team of about 30 economists and research professionals, providing macro-economic and business research support to the HKTDC and its various stakeholders. Nick also serves as a member of the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, and was an Associate Member of the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong Government.
Nick was formerly the Asia Chief Economist and Head of Research of Standard Chartered Bank. Earlier, Nick worked at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), specializing in macro-economic and policy research, and was the Asia Pacific Regional Chief Economist of Merrill Lynch. Nick is an economics graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with an MBA from Warwick University in the UK and was a Chartered Financial Analyst.
President, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Mr. Thomas S. T. So was elected President on 7 June 2016. He was Vice-President of the Law Society between May 2013 to June 2016. Prior to that, Mr. So has been serving as a Law Society Council member since 2005 and had acted as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Compliance, Standing Committee on Practitioners Affairs, Greater China Legal Affairs Committee, Law Week Organising Committee and Constitutional Affairs and Human Rights Committee.
Mr. So is a partner at Mayer Brown JSM advising on property-related, libel and media related litigation work, as well as cross border litigation and arbitration in the PRC. Mr. So is also a solicitor advocate having rights to appear in the higher courts in HK. He obtained his LL.B degree from University of Hull (1985), LL.M degree in International Commercial Law from University of Hong Kong (1993), LL.B degree at China University of Political Science & Law, Beijing (1997), and Doctor of Laws from Tsinghua University, Beijing (2005).
Admitted to practise in Hong Kong (1988), England & Wales (1991) (non-practising), Australia - ACT (1991), Australia - High Court (1991), Singapore (1993) and the People’s Republic of China (2009), Mr. So is also a China-Appointed Attesting Officer (2003).
Chairman of the Conference Organising Committee & Council Member and Past President, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Mr. Huen Wong is a council member and past president of the Law Society of Hong Kong. He is also the Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre as well as the past president of Inter Pacific Bar Association. Mr. Wong is currently the Chairman of Communications Authority and Copyright Tribunal and a Deputy Chairman of the Inland Revenue Board of Review.
Mr. Wong was admitted to practise as a solicitor in Hong Kong and England & Wales in 1985 and 1989 respectively. He is currently the Principal of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Mr Wong is a member of the Board of the Hospital Authority, the Hong Kong Aviation Security Company, The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited and the Competition Commission.
Partner, AJURIS, Advocates & Corporate Counsel
Mr. Mansoor Usman Awan is the Partner In-charge of the Lahore Office of AJURIS, Advocates & Corporate. He spearheads the firm’s tax practice in Pakistan. Mr. Awan holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from Harvard Law School, USA and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from University of the Punjab, Pakistan where he was awarded Justice M. Jan Memorial gold medal for distinction in Jurisprudence and Charles Earl Bevan Petman Law Prize for distinction in Criminal Law. Mr. Awan has also practiced law in the U.S., the UK and the UAE. He has worked with Shearman & Sterling LLP and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in their New York, London and UAE Offices. He is admitted to the Bar in the State of New York, USA and Pakistan.
Council Member, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Partner, Baker & Mckenzie
Steven is the head of the tax practice in Hong Kong/China. His practice focuses on Hong Kong and Asian regional tax advisory work, estate planning and tax litigation. He is a past member of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department Board of Review, and has been a part-time instructor in Tax and Revenue Law at the University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is a former executive director of STEP and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Steven graduated from the University of Alberta, from Dalhousie University and from NYU. He is admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England and Wales, and as a barrister and solicitor in Alberta, Canada.
Managing Director, China Business Services, RSM Hong Kong
Caesar Wong is the Managing Director of China Business Services of RSM Hong Kong, a member firm of the 6 th largest global audit, tax and consulting professional network RSM, with more than 41,400 people in 800 offices at 120 jurisdictions. Caesar was with Andersen, PwC, EY and Deloitte for 24 years. He was seconded to Shanghai in 1994, and relocated to Guangzhou to witness the development of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone member zones.
Caesar is experienced in delivering practical solutions to China and cross-border tax and business projects. He is specialized in direct investment services, government services, tax risk management and tax controversy solution services. Caesar helped an international hi-tech group to reach the first advance pricing agreement in Shanghai in 2001, which was the first one on intra-group service income in China.
Caesar supports policy studies and drafting, and is a popular speaker at government conferences, trainings and policy consultation meetings.
His professional appointments include:
Partner & Head of Hong Kong Office, Pinsent Masons
Vincent Connor is a partner of Pinsent Masons and heads the firm's Hong Kong office. The firm has advised on One Belt, One Road (OBOR) projects for 15 years, dating back to the early days of China's outbound infrastructure investment initiative. Pinsent Masons advised on the Thar mine and power project in Pakistan in 2014, which was subsequently designated as the first OBOR project-financed development. This project won the China Business Law Journal Deal of the Year Award in 2016.
Vincent is a legal adviser to the Infrastructure sector and specialises in construction and engineering law. He is a solicitor advocate, having been granted higher rights of audience in respect of civil proceedings in Hong Kong and is therefore able to appear in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal. He is known and rated highly for his advocacy skills in arbitration, litigation, adjudication and ADR. He has also been granted full registration as a registered foreign lawyer with and can appear before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).
He is described by the Asia-Pacific Legal 500 as having "a top reputation" in Construction Law; is included in the top tier of Leading Individuals in Hong Kong for Construction Law in Chambers' Client's Guide in which he is said to impress clients by "thinking of solutions rather than just giving advice”; and is described as a "superb strategist when it comes to advising clients throughout construction projects" in Who's Who Legal, the independent legal research guide.
Vincent is Chairman of the International Infrastructure Forum of The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Partner – Asset Finance, Berwin Leighton Paisner (HK) in Association with Haley Ho & Partners
Jackson specialises in structured asset finance and leasing with particular focus on aviation. He has advised on a vast range of cross border financing and leasing structures, including JOLCOS, French tax leases, Export Credit Agency supported financings, asset backed securitizations, syndicated portfolio loans, aircraft secured bond transactions, aircraft portfolio sales, PRC SPC structured financings, sale and leasebacks, aircraft and engine operating lease transactions.
Jackson is recognised in the Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific Guide 2017 and Legal 500 and acknowledged for his ability to “input thoughts on some innovative financing structures, especially relating to structured financing transactions.”
Managing Partner, Squire Patton Boggs Singapore LLP
Ignatius Hwang has more than 25 years’ experience in energy, infrastructure and resources projects in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, particularly China, India, Southeast Asia and Australia. He advises governments and sponsors on strategic, procurement, legal, commercial and risk issues relating to public-private partnership projects (PPP) and on the development, acquisition, financing, construction and operation of energy, infrastructure and resources projects.
His transactional experience, particularly acquisitions and project financing, includes deal structuring, due diligence, and drafting and negotiation of development, acquisition, fuel supply and power purchase agreements, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts, as well as financing and security documentation
Ignatius has been consistently recognized in The Legal 500 EMEA and by Chambers Asia Pacific as a leading projects and energy lawyer, and is described recently in Chambers Asia Pacific as “an established player within the domestic projects market, and is best known for his PPP expertise” and “highly rated.” He has been recently recognized as “Elite Leading individual" under Projects & Energy sector by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide Y2016.
Founding Partner, Jin Mao Partners
Jack is the Founding Partner of Jin Mao Partners, the First-grade lawyer and international arbitrator. Jack commenced the legal practicing in 1990. Jack is the Jurisdictional Council Member of Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA), arbitrator of Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, Shanghai International Arbitration Center and Shanghai Arbitration Commission. Jack is one of the members of Administrative Reconsideration Committee of Shanghai Municipal Government, legal advisor of MOFCOM in Shanghai, the executive director of “One Belt One Road” Legal Research and Service Center.
Jack specialized in the areas of banking and finance, capital market, international investment and dispute resolution. Jack was responsible for many famous cross-border transactions, domestic and overseas IPOs, large financing projects including Shanghai Disney Land’s syndicated loans. Jack was honored as “Asian Leading Lawyer” by an internationally prestigious legal rating magazine. Jack was appraised as a model foreign legal advisor of Shanghai in 1993, outstanding young lawyer of Shanghai in 1996 and outstanding lawyer of Shanghai in 2001 and Top 10 Youth of Shanghai in 2001, core legal expert of China insurance industry in 2015 and 2016, top financing and banking lawyer of China by LEGALBAND in 2017 .
Partner, King & Wood Mallesons
Paul is widely recognised as one of Asia’s top construction, disputes and arbitration lawyers with over 30 years of experience. He has conducted and helped to resolve many of Asia's largest disputes.
Paul’s team is several times winner of Asian Legal Business Construction Practice of the Year, International Cross-border and Arbitration Advisory Firm of the Year in Hong Kong.
The Global Arbitration Review cites a client’s praise for Paul as: ‘Simply the best lawyer for dispute resolution in construction and industrials in the East Asia and Pacific region. From the outset he goes straight to the heart of the matter, developing strong, clear lines of argument and identifying and neutralising points of weakness early in the process.
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific specifically singles out Paul as “an excellent strategist”. Chambers Asia Pacific adds “everything you need in a lawyer – he’s bright and a great listener, but above all a master of tactics and strategy. He is decisive, clear and spot-on. He doesn’t just give superb advice: he gives the solution”. Chambers Asia describes Paul as a “razor -sharp, supreme strategist who is attuned to clients... ‘able to think really creatively about the issue at hand’.”
Chairman, Insurance Authority
Dr. Moses Cheng is a Consultant of Messrs. P. C. Woo & Co., one of the longest established law firms in Hong Kong, after serving as its Senior Partner from 1994 to 2015. He is also admitted to practice as a solicitor in England and Wales, the State of Victoria in Australia and Singapore, and is a member of the Hong Kong Society of Notaries as well as a Council member of the Association of China-Appointed Attesting Officers. Over the years, Dr. Cheng served in many public roles including the Chairmanship of the Council and Court of Hong Kong Baptist University, the Education Commission, the Board of Education and the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. He was also an independent non-executive director of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and an appointed member of the Legislative Council between 1991 and 1995. Presently, Dr. Cheng is an independent non-executive director of a number of listed companies. Apart from being the Chairman of the Insurance Authority and the Process Review Panel for the Securities and Futures Commission, he is the Chancellor of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (the Anglican Church of Hong Kong). In recognition of his many services and contributions to Hong Kong, Dr. Cheng was awarded the OBE by Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom in 1997, the Gold Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government in 2003, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2016. Dr. Cheng has also been conferred honorary doctoral degrees by a number of local universities.
Managing Partner, Grandall Law Firm (Shanghai)
Mr. Huang has rich experience in the following areas: crossborder investment and financing, M&A, financial service innovation, commercial dispute settlement. His services include the structural design of cross-border investment, management of onshore and offshore M&A; financial services, in particular, the services relating to innovation and financial regulatory compliance He is also an expert in corporate and commercial dispute settlement.
Mr. Huang used to work as senior executive for American International Group (AIG) and AIA Insurance Co., Ltd. (AIA), and has in-depth knowledge and practical experiences on the internal control and corporate structural matters of multinational companies.
Mr. Huang has an extensive range of clients, including large-scale state owned enterprises, listed companies, mul-tinational companies, financial institutions, private owned enterprises and etc.
Mr. Huang had extensive experiences in leading the onshore and offshore legal teams to complete deals and trans-actions with complicated structures.
Mr. Huang has in-depth knowledge on the free trade zone issues in China. He also leads in the coordination of Grandall’s One Belt One Road legal services.
Council Member, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Roden is a Council member of the Law Society of Hong Kong. He started his career as a solicitor in Hong Kong focusing on Insurance related and commercial litigation. In 2007, he joined a multinational insurer as in-house claim specialist and thereafter promoted to be the Regional Claim Manager to oversee all financial lines and specialty large loss across North Asia.
In 2016, he joined Berkley Insurance Asia as Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Hong Kong Branch and Head of Claims, Financial Lines for Asia. Roden has extensive experience in handling complex Financial Lines claim matters, including Lehman-related investment mis-selling issues, US class actions against Hong Kong and PRC companies, and major fidelity claims.
Alongside with his work, Roden has a passion in social service. He serves in various Law Society’s committees and working groups including the Standing Committee of Practitioner Affairs, Standing Committee on Members Services, Consents Committee and the PIS Panel Solicitors Selection Board. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Recreation and Sports Committee and the Chairman of the Teen Talk 2017 event, an annual flagship event of the Law Society to provide a platform for secondary students to discuss the core values of the society and legal issues that may have an impact on their lives.
Chief Executive Officer, Asia Insurance Co. Ltd.
Winnie Wong joined Asia Insurance Company Limited as CEO on September 12, 2016. Prior to Asia Insurance, she was the CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Hong Kong and has over 20 years’ experience in Insurance and Risk Management Consulting.
Before Aon, Winnie was Assistant General Manager at Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Hong Kong. She started her career as Group Management Trainee at Swire Pacific Group, where she achieved several career advancements in the Group's insurance division and the Risk Management Department of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited.
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Marsh (Hong Kong) Limited
Lei Yu leads Marsh Hong Kong Corporate General and Specialty Insurance Broking Services. She is also the director of Marsh Macau operations.
She is responsible for driving business growth, retention and profitability of Marsh Global Institutional and Commercial clients in Hong Kong and Macau. She manages a team of professional insurance brokers and consultants to deliver innovative risk management and insurance solutions.
Lei joined Marsh and McLennan Companies in the New York Office in 1998 where she initially worked as a Management Consultant for the Marsh Strategic Planning unit. Since that time, she has held increasingly broader roles in management positions globally; servicing as a global property insurance broker in USA; Vice President of MNC service in China, Head of Sales in Singapore, and Risk Management Practice Leader in Hong Kong.
Lei started her career in the United States as a management consultant working for GE Capital, Citibank and Morgan Stanley for their operations process improvement and business strategy development.
Head of Fintech, Invest Hong Kong, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Charles d'Haussy is Head of FinTech at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the department of the Hong Kong SAR Government responsible for Foreign Direct Investment.
In 2016, InvestHK has set up a Fintech team to attract top innovative Fintech companies, entrepreneurs, investors, accelerators, R&D institutions from Mainland and overseas to supporting businesses to set up and expand in Hong Kong.
The Fintech team has dedicated correspondents in Hong Kong, London and Silicon Valley. They provide practical support and assistance on setting up offices, facilitating visa and banks accounts, regulators introductions, networking opportunities, guidance in government grants and funding.
Mr d'Haussy has 13 years’ experience in Hong Kong private sector, having setup his company and holding a number of management roles. Before joining InvestHK, Charles was head of sales and business development with a leading Hong Kong online broker and robo-adviser.
Mr d'Haussy held SFC licenses 1 & 4, studied in France at Rennes International Business school, as well as Sun Yat Sen University in Guangzhou, China.
He is certified on BlockChain business strategy from Be9 London, CPT Star bronze 2016 award with the HKSI and pursue trainings on machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.
Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder, ANX International
Lo has 19+ year of experience in management consultancy and international sales and marketing strategies development. In June 2013, he co-founded ANX INTERNATIONAL (ANX) with Dave Chapman and Hugh Madden. ANX is a Hong Kong based FinTech which specialises in distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions. The company has scaled to become one of the biggest players in the industry, serving over 3 million customers in 50+ countries. Prior to ANX, Lo had worked at BT Global Services, Verizon Business, Accenture, BMO Capital Markets, and Fairfax Financial. Lo has been universally recognised for his knowledge in DLT and itsapplications. He has been interviewed by CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg and NASDAQ. He is also frequently being invited to share his insights on technology at industry event around the world. Lo is actively engaged in the FinTech community. He was on the judging panel for HKICT Awards 2017. Besides, he sits at the Expert Review Panel of LSCM and FinTech Core Focus Advisory Board of the WTIA Hong Kong.
Vice-President, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Mr. Amirali B. Nasir first joined the Law Society Council in 2005 and has since been involved in the work of Guidance Committee, Standing Committee on Practitioners Affairs, Standing Committee on Policy & Resources, Standing Committee on Compliance, Standing Committee on Standards and Development, Standing Committee on Member Services, Litigation Committee, Technology Committee, Working Party on Islamic Finance and various other committees. Mr. Nasir is the founder of Nasirs Solicitors. His main areas of practice are litigation, company, commercial, islamic finance, property, trusts and notarial services.
Mr. Nasir was educated in, and first qualified as a solicitor, in London, UK. He moved to Hong Kong and first practised as a solicitor at a prominent local firm of solicitors after which he established the firm of AB Nasir & Co later renamed NASIRS. In addition to his practise as a Solicitor in Hong Kong, he is enrolled as a solicitor in England and Wales and as a Notary Public by faculty granted in Hong Kong and in England and Wales. Mr. Nasir is also a trustee of a local charitable trust serving the local community in all aspects of life. Amirali advocates the adoption of green values to enhance and promote a blue-green attitude towards our planet and enjoys neuro- gaming, NLP and Hypnosis for relaxation.
Mr. Nasir was appointed a Justice of the Peace in July 2005.
Chairman, VeriFi (Hong Kong) Ltd
Pindar Wong is an internet pioneer, who co-founded the first licensed Internet Service Provider in Hong Kong in 1993 and leads the 'Belt and Road Blockchain Consortium'.
Pindar serves on the Hong Kong Government's Committee on Innovation, Technology and Re-industrialisation , as a Director of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and also serves on the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ICT Services advisory committee, the School of Engineering Advisory Committee Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Technical Advisory Board of the Packet Clearing House and on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Internet Protocol Journal.
Previously, he was the first Vice-Chairman of ICANN, Chairman of the Asia Pacific Internet Association, alternate Chairman of Asia Pacific Network Information Center, Chairman of APRICOT, Commissioner on the Global Commission on Internet Governance and elected Trustee of the Internet Society. From 2010-2015 he served on the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Government and the Task Force on Industry Facilitation.
In 2015, he helped organise Asia's first Blockchainworkshops.org, Phase 1, 2 and 3 of ScalingBitcoin.org and sponsored the Hong Kong Bitcoin Roundtable. Together with Dr. Shin'ichiro Matsuo, he is establishing the bsafe.network to promote applied academic research in blockchain technologies.
Council Member, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Nick Chan, MH is a technology lawyer passionate in helping the broader community using creativity and innovation. He has a computer science degree and a law degree. As a Partner at a top ten most global law firm Squire Patton Boggs, with 46 offices in 21 countries, he leads their Technology, Media and Telecommunications Practice for Asia Pacific utilizing valuable insights gained from serving in-house at global technology companies. He is proud of the success of many entrepreneurship projects and programmes, start-ups, family offices, venture capital and private equity funds, research centres, multi-national corporations and governments whom he served. He is often involved in improving and implementing policies for the creation, protection, commercialization and transfer of impactful knowledge transfer. At the Law Society of Hong Kong, he serves as Council Member, Vice Chairman of Belt and Road Committee, Chairman of Public Policy Committee and member of the Intellectual Property and Competition Law committees. He is a Council Member of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He serves as Chairman, adjudicator and panel member of various public appeal boards and tribunals. He is Honorary Legal Advisor of Hong Kong Creative Industries Association, Hong Kong General Chamber of Cross-border E-Commerce, Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, Hong Kong O2O E-Commerce Federation, and International Federation of Creativity and Technology.
Chief Fintech Officer, Fintech Facilitation Office, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
Nelson Chow has been appointed to the present position from 1 September 2016 with responsibilities for facilitating the healthy development of the fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong and promoting Hong Kong as a fintech hub in Asia. He joined the HKMA in 2004 and was responsible for the supervision of banks’ technology risk management and business continuity planning as well as the formulation of related policies and guidelines. He was the Deputy Chief Representative of the New York Office in 2010. After returning to Hong Kong in 2013, he took up responsibilities to supervise banks’ operational risk management and perform macro-prudential data analysis. Prior to joining the HKMA, Mr Chow was a Vice President of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. responsible for information risk management of the Asia Pacific region. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Auckland and a Master of Science degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Dr Chung is the Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology, assisting the Secretary for Innovation and Technology in strengthening the cooperation with the industry, academia and the research sector, fostering development of innovation and technology to promote development of high-end manufacturing industry as well as enhancing nurture of innovation and technology talents with an aim to create a vibrant ecosystem for innovation and technology. He has almost 30 years of experience in information technology strategic management and entrepreneurship development. Dr Chung worked as Chief Technology Officer at Cyberport Management Company Limited, responsible for taking forward its core mission on IT infrastructure, industry collaboration and incubation platforms for IT entrepreneurs. He also assisted in setting up the first Micro Fund Scheme in HK for young information and communications technology entrepreneurs. Dr Chung was a winner of the "China Top 5 CIO Award" in 2013.
Assistant Director (Patents), Intellectual Property Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Mr. Thomas C.S. TSANG was admitted as a solicitor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”) in 2000. Following his eight-year private practice in intellectual property law, he joined the Intellectual Property Department of the HKSAR Government and was appointed as a Senior Solicitor in 2008. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Intellectual Property in 2015. His present core duties focus on rendering legal and policy advice as well as support to the HKSAR Government on patent issues, inclusive of assisting to formulate the new patent law and set up the necessary infrastructure for establishing an original grant patent system and refining the short-term patent system in the HKSAR. He also takes part in public education activities by delivering various presentations to civil servants and members of the public on intellectual property issues from time to time.
President, Lithuanian Bar Association
Prof. Dr. IGNAS VĖGĖLĖ, President of the Lithuanian Bar Association; Attorney-at-Law; Professor of the Institute of International and European Union Law at Mykolas Romeris University; Vice Chairman, Lithuanian Lawyers Association; Member, The Commission of the qualifying exam for notaries; member of the experts group for the amendments of the civil code of the Republic of Lithuania; member of the State Legal Aid Council to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania; the Head and the member of the various expert groups in drafting national legislation and national positions towards international treaties; author of scientific articles, study books and monographs and speaker at numerous international conferences on EU and international law. Tilto Street 17 Vilnius, Lithuania, LT-01101 tel.: + +370 5 262 4546; +370 5 236 0533; +370 687 30 878, e-mail: ignas@vegele.lt
Senior Vice President, The Bar Association of India
Dr. Pinky Anand, a trustee of The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust is a designated Senior Advocate and is the incumbent Additional Solicitor General of India. A Doctorate of Law, graduate of the Harvard Law School and an Inlaks scholar, Honorary Professor at Amity Law School, she is the second woman in India to have been awarded this high Constitutional Law office.
A versatile multifaceted person, social activist, a leading lawyer in diverse fields, her accomplishments extend from legal expertise to media to politics to social activities. She has worked tirelessly for the cause of social development and has achieved numerous milestones in her endeavour be it for the development of the country, right of free speech, eradication of malpractices or the protection of children. The causes espoused by her have led us towards milestone changes in the legal fabric. She has been honoured with several awards for excellence in law and has led India in several international forums the BRICS Legal Forum. Delegation Member of MOU signing between the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Bar Association of India January 2017. In-charge of International Relations (IBA, Lawasia,UIA, CLA, IPBA) Bar Association of India. International Member of BRICS Legal Forum Steering Committee. Speaker at ICH conference at Harvard Kennedy School 2017. Speaker at ICH conference at Harvard Business School 2017. Delivered lecture at HLS Boston 2017 on “Judicial Review–Judicial Activism – Judicial Restraint”. Best Speaker at Clash of the Titans Invitational Debate 2016-2017.
Partner, Dentons’ Hong Kong
Julianne is a partner at Dentons, an international law firm. A graduate from the University of Hong Kong (LLB) and Cambridge University (LLM), Julianne is involved in Dentons' Venture Technology practice. She focuses on investments, cross border M&As, corporate, commercial and financial/securities matters, including fundraising, compliance and regulatory and Hong Kong and overseas listing matters. She is an external examiner for the Overseas Lawyers Qualification examination and the Chinese University of Hong Kong's PCLL Corporate Finance course and a regular speaker for the HK Academy of Law. As well, Julianne actively serves in advisory positions in government and statutory bodies and community organizations and charities.
Senior Legal Counsel, Alibaba Group
Cindy Hui is Senior Legal Counsel of the Alibaba Group overseeing a range of international commercial matters of the Group. She obtained her LL.B. (Hons) and M.Phil. from The University of Hong Kong and was in private practice in Hong Kong, Tokyo and London before moving in-house with investment bank and listed corporations. Her current role at Alibaba Group includes overseeing of the legal affairs of alibaba.com, aliexpress.com, onetouch.com, and some Tmall and Taobao overseas systems. Aside from these global platforms, she also takes care of legal affairs of Alibaba International Business units and offices spanning U.S., Europe, Russia, Japan, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. She specialises in legal and related PR and GR affairs arising from cross-border ecommerce, payments, data transfer and logistics.
Senior Counsel, Uber Hong Kong
Mr. Ng was one of Uber’s first APAC legal team members and is based out of Uber’s Hong Kong office covering the APAC region. Mr. Ng led Uber’s transactions team which included advising Uber on commercial transactions, corporate governance, compliance, business strategy, fund-raising, investments and corporate structuring matters. More recently Mr. Ng has been focusing on advising the company on regulatory and government-relation matters with a particular focus in North Asia.
Prior to joining Uber, Mr. Ng was an attorney with the leading international law firms, Latham & Watkins in Hong Kong, with White & Case in London and the Middle East, and with Herbert Smith in London. In 2014, Mr. Ng was seconded to the Government of Qatar to prepare for the hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Mr. Ng has worked closely with the Chinese business community including advising SAFE, China Life, China Harbour Engineering, Nanjing Automotive and China Shenhua Energy during his career.
Mr. Ng is a committee member for the Hong Kong Football Association and the Law Society and attended the University of Sheffield, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Oxford Institute of Legal Practice and Tsinghua University.
Senior Partner, Beijing Globe-Law Law Firm
Mr. Wang is Partner at Globe-Law. He is also a CIETAC arbitrator and a member of Legislative Affairs Committee of Beijing Chaoyang People’s Congress.
Mr. Wang has extensive practice experience on IP protection and risk control for business management. His China IP Index Report has subsequently been publicized for eight consecutive years included as reference literature by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The team led by Mr. Wang has hosted 2005 Top Ten National IP Case, 2008 Beijing Top 10 foreign merchant IP Protection Case, 2009 Beijing Top 10 IP Cases/ 2009 50 Classic Cases of Chinese IP, 2013 Top 10 cases of Patent Appeals , 2013 50 Classic IP Cases of the Supreme Court of China. Mr. Wang was awarded ‘The First National Intellectual Property Talented Leader,‘ ‘SME International Service Star,’ ’Beijing Outstanding Lawyer Returning from Abroad’ ‘Beijing Outstanding Intellectual Property Lawyer’ and ‘Candidate for Ten National Young Jurists’.
Council Member, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Denis Brock is the managing partner of O'Melveny's Hong Kong office and serves as Chair of the International Disputes and Arbitration Practice. He concentrates his practice on commercial and corporate arbitration, litigation, and regulatory investigations.
Denis is regularly recognised as a leading dispute resolution and insurance practitioner in Asia and the UK. He is currently ranked as “Band 1” by Chambers Asia in dispute resolution. He is a Solicitor Advocate in England & Wales and one of only a handful of Solicitor Advocates in Hong Kong (with full rights of audience before all courts).
Denis acts for the world’s largest clients on their most high-profile and complex cases. He draws on years of experience handling corporate and joint venture disputes, partnership issues, commodities and resources disputes, professional negligence claims (particularly against accountants, brokers and lawyers), banking and finance litigation, insurance matters and regulatory issues.
Secretary General, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
Sarah Grimmer is Secretary-General of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. She was formerly Senior Legal Counsel at the PCA where she served as tribunal secretary in multiple investor-State arbitrations and was appointed registrar in several inter-State arbitrations. Prior to joining the PCA, Sarah served for three years as Assistant Counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. She was also a member of the international arbitration group at Shearman & Sterling LLP in Paris, prior to which she worked in private practice in Auckland. In 2015, Sarah was appointed to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Disciplinary Board. She is a member of the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages (2016), ICCA Publications Committee (2015), the IBA Investment Arbitration Subcommittee (2014), New Zealand ICC Arbitration Committee (2014), and the IBA Arb40 Steering Committee (2013). She has an LLM from Cambridge University and an LLB/BA (Criminology) from Victoria University of Wellington. She is admitted to practice law in New Zealand.
Partner, Mayer Brown JSM, Hong Kong
Menachem Hasofer is a partner of Mayer Brown JSM's Construction & Engineering practice and global co-leader of the firm’s International Arbitration practice. He is experienced in litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution with an emphasis on handling document-intensive disputes arising from building construction and infrastructure projects.
Menachem has substantial experience in representing domestic and international parties in various industries including transportation, healthcare and other major public projects, and in relation to landmark private projects, before a variety of arbitral tribunals. He also speaks regularly at seminars and conferences on International Arbitration and other dispute resolution topics.
Menachem also has significant experience in public/administrative law cases, particularly in representing Hong Kong land owners and NGOs in judicial review proceedings concerning town planning, environmental and land lease decisions. He also advises on public procurement/tendering issues under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA).
Managing Counsel, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center and China Maritime Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center
Mr. Wang holds position of Managing Counsel that leads the case management team of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center (CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center) which is the first and only overseas branch of the largest and oldest permanent arbitral institution in China. His job responsibilities include supervising case management team over administered arbitration cases and answer queries from parties and their counsel before, during and after arbitration that are CIETAC related.
He is also Managing Counsel of the China Maritime Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center which is the first and only overseas branch of the sole maritime arbitration commission in China.
Besides, Mr. Wang carries a research and development role in CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center, which can be reflected by the Emergency Arbitrators Procedures in the latest Arbitration Rules of CIETAC and CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center’s Guidelines to Third Party Funding in Arbitration.
Before joining CIETAC and CMAC Hong Kong, Mr. WANG worked as litigation lawyer primarily before courts in Shanghai and Jiangsu in China and also advocated in arbitration for three years, where he specialized in cross-border maritime and construction-related arbitration seated in the Mainland and Hong Kong. Mr. Wang holds law degrees from both Mainland China and Hong Kong, and Graduate Diploma in Laws from the U.K..
Managing Director & Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC
David is the Head of Financial Crime Compliance for Goldman Sachs Asia LLC; David has over 25 years of experience in the financial crime and anti-money laundering space, both as a Compliance Officer and in Hong Kong law enforcement. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, David was the Asia Pacific Head for Global Financial Crimes Compliance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, previous to his time at Bank of America he was the Regional AML/CTF Compliance Manager for Morgan Stanley Asia. David was also briefly a Partner at KPMG China based in Hong Kong in the forensic practice dealing with AML/CTF and sanctions issues.
In his Compliance roles David led multinational teams dealing with all aspects of financial crime risk management, including client on boarding, sanctions and corruption issues, suspicious activity detection and reporting, and financial crime risk assessments, as well as providing advice and counsel to bank senior management and business leaders for financial crime issues arising in the region. David was also the regulatory and audit exam management lead in the Region for financial crime, and implemented the design and implementation of the regional monitoring and testing program.
Before his time in Compliance, David’s 17 year long career in the Hong Kong Police was mainly the focused on the investigation and prosecuted serious complex financial crime and money laundering. David had postings to the Commercial Crime Bureau, Organized Crime and Triad Bureau and Narcotics Bureau. David was also part of the formulation and execution of the Hong Kong Police’s financial investigation policy and training including dealing with the Financial Action Task Force Mutual Evaluation process.
David holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of London, and a Master of Social Sciences in Criminology from the University of Hong Kong. David is also a current and founding Board Member of the Hong Kong Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.
Council Member, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Warren works as a Senior Consultant in private practice with the Hong Kong office of law firm RPC (Reynolds Porter Chamberlain). He qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1998 (currently, in practice) and in England & Wales in 1990 (currently, not in practice). Before his present position, Warren worked for two international law firms in Hong Kong and taught post-graduate law students.
Prior to coming to Hong Kong, Warren spent extended periods of time working on high profile multi-jurisdictional disputes in places such as London, Abu Dhabi and Bombay. He has travelled extensively and has lived and worked in various different jurisdictions.
Besides being a commercial disputes resolution lawyer, Warren writes extensively on various regulatory and compliance issues, including anti-money laundering trends in Hong Kong.
Warren is a Council Member of the Law Society of Hong Kong and a member of the Editorial Board of the Hong Kong Lawyer (the official journal of The Law Society of Hong Kong). He has served on a number of professional committees since 2005. Warren's views are his own and, as a moderator or panellist, he does not purport speak on behalf of anyone else.
Director, Global Investigations and Strategic Intelligence Practice, Berkeley Research Group
Rebecca Li is a Director of Global Investigations and Strategic Intelligence practice of Berkeley Research Group (BRG), specializing in corporate investigations pertaining to corruption and related financial crime. She also supports clients in the design, implementation and review of anti-bribery and regulatory compliance programmes.
Before joining BRG, Ms Li was the acting Head of Operations of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption and had extensive experience in spearheading and overseeing major investigations in both the public and private sectors. These ranged from high profile corruption cases involving senior public officials to corruption facilitated fraud involving senior executives of listed companies. Ms Li was also involved in the work of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group of APEC, review of implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the mutual evaluation of Hong Kong by the Financial Action Task Force.
Ms Li is the holder of a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Leicester. She was awarded the ICAC Medal for Distinguished Service in 2007.
Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
ALAN LINNING is a partner in Sidley Austin’s Hong Kong office. He has practiced for over 25 years in Hong Kong and focuses on financial services regulatory matters, investigations and proceedings, as well as complex commercial litigation.
Prior to joining Sidley, Alan was Managing Director and Head of Asia Regional Compliance at a leading investment bank. He also previously served as the SFC’s Executive Director of Enforcement. Before that, he practiced for 13 years in the Hong Kong office of a well-known international law firm and was the co-head of the dispute resolution practice.
As a former regulator, Alan has in-depth knowledge about enforcement of the SFC’s statutory powers under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. With the breadth of experience gained from Alan’s career working in the region’s commercial and finance sectors as well as with the Hong Kong regulators, he is well-placed to advise corporate and financial clients on a wide range of regulatory matters, compliance issues, and regulatory policies and developments.
Alan has been recognized as a leading lawyer for dispute resolution and financial services regulatory work by several legal publications, including Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Chambers Asia Pacific, Chambers Global and IFLR 1000.
Partner, Dechert LLP Hong Kong
Kareena Teh advises multinational, PRC and Hong Kong clients on governance, regulatory and compliance matters, as well as complex corporate and commercial litigation matters. Ms. Teh’s experience in these areas includes assisting clients in cross-border fraud, corruption, money laundering, market misconduct and securities fraud investigations. She also represents clients in civil actions involving directors’ and officers’ liability issues, insolvency, asset-tracing and insurance claims and recovery actions, and applications for emergency relief in aid of the actions.
Ms. Teh was the first female solicitor in Hong Kong to be granted higher rights of audience, a designation permitting select, highly-qualified litigators to represent clients in civil matters in all levels of Hong Kong’s judicial system. Ms. Teh is recognised by Legal 500 Asia Pacific for her work in anti-corruption and compliance, dispute resolution and regulatory matters in Hong Kong, and ranked in Global Investigations Review’s “Women in Investigations” feature on the world’s top 100 women investigation lawyers.
Senior Partner, Cecil Abraham & Partners
Tan Sri Cecil Abraham, Senior Partner with Cecil Abraham & Partners, is a Barrister-At-Law of the Middle Temple and is a Bencher of the Inn. He is a graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London. He is a Chartered Arbitrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators U.K., Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators, Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration Limited. He is an Advisory Member of the International Court of Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). He has been involved as Arbitrator and Counsel in more than 100 arbitrations under the ICC, SIAC, KLRCA, LCIA and ICSID Rules and also in Ad Hoc arbitrations. He is a Member of the ICSID panel. He has represented the Government of Malaysia in an ICSID arbitration and is presently involved in arbitration and annulment proceedings under the ICSID Convention. He also acts as counsel in Bilateral Investment Treaties. He is also a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He is Malaysia’s representative to the ICC Court of Arbitration. He was a former Member of the LCIA Court.
Professor, Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Julien Chaisse is Professor of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He is an award-winning specialist in international economic law with particular expertise in the regulation and economics of foreign investment. His research also covers other relevant fields, such as WTO law, international taxation and the law of natural resources.
Prof. Chaisse has authored a broad body of well-regarded and widely-cited articles on topics ranging from the rise of sovereign wealth funds, the regulation of foreign investment, and decision-making challenges facing the WTO, which have been published in the top refereed journals of international law. In 2016, he published a 600-page volume with Oxford University Press titled “International Economic law and Governance”. In recognition of his outstanding scholarly achievements, Prof. Chaisse received the CUHK Research Excellence Award in 2012, and was appointed Director of the Center for Financial Regulation and Economic Development of CUHK Law since 2013.
In addition to scholarly work, Prof. Chaisse has wide experience as a practitioner, and is engaged as expert, counsel and arbitrator in transnational dispute settlement. Prof. Chaisse was appointed a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for the term 2016-2018 which is the world's foremost interdisciplinary knowledge network dedicated to promoting innovative thinking on critical global issues, regions and industries, and incubating projects, campaigns and events for the public good.
Chairman of the Belt and Road Committee, The Law Society of Hong Kong
Mr. Kan is the Senior Partner of Fred Kan & Co., an established commercial law firm in Hong Kong.
Mr. Kan graduated from the University of Toronto in mechanical engineering as well as in law. He was a member of the Council of the Law Society from 1997 to 2002. He is currently the Chairman of the Law Society’s Belt and Road Committee.
In May 2016 Mr. Kan was admitted to the Law Society’s Roll of Honour in recognition of his distinguished service to the Law Society, to the Council and to the development of the practice of law in Hong Kong.
From 1997 to 1998 Mr. Kan was the Chairman of the Banking and Finance Standing Committee of LAWASIA and from 1998 to 2001 he was the Chairman of its Banking, Finance and Insurance Standing Committee.
Mr. Kan was a Council Member of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. He was also a Member of the Macau Law Reform Advisory Committee. He is currently a director of the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre.
Mr. Kan was a Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Review Body on Bid Challenges (under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement). In March and April 2010, he was a Visiting Scholar of government procurement law at the University of Nottingham.
Mr. Kan is a member of the Executive Committee of UIA (Union Internationale des Avocats / International Association of Lawyers) and is its Director of National and Regional Activities.
Director, Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration
Vice Chairman & President，Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) Education
Professional Background
Maritime and International Trade Arbitrator
Mr. Philip Yang has been a full-time arbitrator for well over 20 years, mainly in international trade, shipping and commercial disputes. He has published/issued over 550 arbitration awards as a sole or co-arbitrator. Mr. Yang is deputy chairman of the Documentary Committee, Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), Denmark, the Honorary Chairman and Council Member of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Member of the General Committee of the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA), Member of the Advisory Board of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), Committee Member of International Arbitration Committee of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB), the Past President of the Asia-Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG), and the past Hong Kong Representative of ICC International Court of Arbitration. He has published many books and a lot of articles on international trade, shipping and arbitration related topics/matters.