Princess Alia Al-Senussi
Art Basel
VIP Representative, United Kingdom and Middle East
LIBYA
Princess Alia Al-Senussi currently serves as Art Basel's UK and MENA Representative. She is also an Advisor to the Milken Institute on Arts and Culture and brings her breadth of experience from various affiliations in the art world, e.g. Chair of the Tate Young Patrons, the Tate Modern Advisory Council, Tate's Acquisitions Committee for the Middle East and North Africa, the Board of Patrons of Art Dubai, the Board of 1:54 The African Art Fair, and the Middle East Circle of the Guggenheim.
Alia has recently passed her Ph.D. in Politics at SOAS (London), examining the nexus of power and cultural patronage in Saudi Arabia. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in International Relations (honours) and Middle East Studies from Brown University and holds an MA in Political Science from Brown and an MSc in Law, Anthropology and Society from LSE.
Alison M. Friedman
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
Artistic Director, Performing Arts
HONG KONG, CHINA
Ms Friedman joined the West Kowloon Cultural District in October 2017. She leads the dance, theatre, xiqu, music and learning teams of the Performing Arts Department to ensure the Authority’s performing arts programmes are conceptualised, curated and implemented to realise the Authority’s vision to be a regional and global leader in the performing arts.
Ms Friedman is a board member of the International Society for the Performing Arts, one of the largest international alliances of performing arts leaders. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, she founded the successful cultural exchange organisation Ping Pong Productions (PPP) in 2010 after studying as a Fulbright scholar at the Department of History in Peking University and the Beijing Dance Academy in Mainland China 2002 -- 2003. Prior to PPP, Ms Friedman held producer and general manager roles at dance and music institutions including the Beijing Modern Dance Company and composer/ conductor Tan Dun’s production and management company.
Angelina Yuen-Tsang
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Former Vice President
HONG KONG,CHINA
Some men (and women) see things and ask why. Others dream things and ask why not
Professor Angelina Yuen-Tsang, MSW, MEd, PhD. was Vice President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in charge of student and global affairs before she retired in 2018. She has been actively involved in the development of social work education in Hong Kong and Mainland China and was instrumental in starting the first MSW programme in Mainland China offered by PolyU in collaboration with Peking University. She was President of the International Association of Schools of Social Work from 2008 to 2012 and Founding Chair of the University Social Responsibility Network. She is a member of the University Grants Committee, Hon. President of the Hong Kong Social Workers Association, Hon. Advisor of the China Association of Social Work Education and World Vision (China), Hon. Professor of Peking University, Sichuan University and China Women’s University, and Board member of many welfare and charitable foundations in Hong Kong. She was awarded Justice of Peace in 2002 and Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2008 by the Hong Kong SAR Government.
Angellah Kairuki
Chairperson of the Tanzania National Coordinating Committee
Angellah Kairuki is a Tanzanian politician and a Chairperson of the Tanzania National Coordinating Committee on Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition on Women’s Economic Justice and Rights. Previously she served as the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office In-charge of Investment. In 2014, Ms Kairuki was selected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Angellah is an advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and a Member of Tanzania Institute of Arbitrators.
Angie Lin
FinEX Asia Investment Limited
Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer
HONG KONG, CHINA
It is important to do things that we don't like. The world is outside our comfort zone.
Angie Lin has over 10 years of experience in financial products trading and investment advisory. Most recently, she was Co-Chief Executive Officer and Head of Investment Solutions for AMTD, responsible for overall management, strategic planning, business development, and the investment solutions. Previously, she was responsible for fixed income financial product trading at Polaris Securities (HK) Limited. In 2017, Angie co-founded FinEX Asia.
Annie Wu
Supervising Advisor of Hong Kong Federation of Women; Honorary Chairperson of the Women Power Forum
Sky is not the limit.
In 1980, Annie Wu joined her father, Dr James T Wu in establishing the Beijing Air Catering Company Ltd, the first joint venture (001) between Hong Kong and Mainland China through the cooperation between the Civil Aviation Administration of China and Hong Kong Beijing Air Catering Ltd. Witnessing the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening up Policy of China, she is currently Honorary Chairman of the Beijing Air Catering Company Ltd.
She is actively involved in promoting global business, advancing the cause of women’s issues, as well as training and education for youth both in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Annie Wu served on various advisory bodies including Standing Member of the 10th, 11th and 12th term of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Her successful career and contributions to community services have won her various awards for excellence.
Benedicte Monneron
BNP Paribas
Regional Head of Human Resources, Asia Pacific
HONG KONG, CHINA
Benedicte Monneron is Regional Head of Human Resources for BNP Paribas in Asia Pacific. She has extensive experience in both business and support functions, and has led growth and transformation projects.
Benedicte commenced her career with BNP Paribas in France in 1995, as Head of Investor Services at BNP Paribas Securities Services. She then joined Human Resources at the Bank in 2004, as Head of Recruitment for the Group, before joining the BNP Paribas Fortis Integration Project in Brussels, in a HR capacity, in 2009. In 2010, she transitioned into retail banking as the COO for Retail Banking Information Systems. She subsequently became Head of the Management Office for Retail Development & Innovation in France.
Before joining the banking industry, Benedicte spent eight years with Accenture consulting in France.
Calvin Choi
AMTD Group
Chairman & CEO
HONG KONG, CHINA
Calvin Choi is the Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group, and the Founder and Chairman of AMTD Foundation. He is a seasoned banker with over 20 years of experience in the investment banking, international capital markets, and professional auditing sectors.
In 2017, Calvin was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He was also selected by the Institutional Investor magazine as one of the global ‘‘Fintech Finance 35’’ in 2016.
Calvin currently serves as a board director of Bank of Qingdao Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 3866 and SZSE: 002948). He also serves as the director of ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), which was founded by World Bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and ASEAN Bankers Association. Calvin is also appointed as the Vice Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, Honourable President of Hong Kong Army Cadets Association, and Vice President of Hong Kong Federation of Professions.
Calvin is the Founder and Chairman of “Regional Banks+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance”, an association which was initiated by Calvin, with a number of leading Hong Kong-listed regional banks of China as members, including Bank of Qingdao, Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, Jiangxi Bank and Zhongyuan Bank; and the Founder and Chairman of “Greater Bay Young Entrepreneurs Association”, an organisation comprising a group of leading innovative enterprises in Greater Bay Area where its inauguration ceremony was officiated by Paul Chan, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong SAR.
Carol Yau
Chief Executive Officer of Brilliant Group, Permanent Honorary President of Golden Bauhinia Women Entrepreneur Association, Organizing Committee Member of Women Power Forum
Bold and fearless, together we unveil a new era.
Carol Yau, CEO of Brilliant Group and Permanent Honorary President of Golden Bauhinia Women Entrepreneur Association (GBWEA), has more than 25 years’ experience in finance. Since joining Brilliant Group in 2016, she has launched 10 new businesses to implement one-stop service for clients. The services range from insurance, wealth management, IT, precious metals trading, healthcare, education, overseas immigration, virtual shopping, travel agency and F&B.
Carol has also dedicated herself to philanthropy supporting various NGOs and charities. As the Chairperson of TREATS and GBWEA Charitable Foundation, she is devoted to social inclusion and training, mentoring and nurturing women through education. It is her belief that women will be empowered to embrace constant change and overcome all upcoming challenges.
Chantal Khoueiry
Brides do Good
Founder
UNITED KINGDOM
Chantal Khoueiry is the Chief Culture Officer of The Bicester Village Shopping Collection by Value Retail, widely recognised as the best performing shopping centre portfolio (full price or outlet) in the world. Chantal has extensive retail, executive coaching and humanitarian experience. She joined Value Retail in 2001, initially as Group HR Director and most recently as Chief Culture Officer. Prior to this, Chantal worked as HR Director at Polo Ralph Lauren and as project leader at UNESCO, supporting various humanitarian global initiatives. In 2017, Chantal founded Brides do Good, a pioneering retail platform that offers brides-to-be an opportunity to repurpose pre-worn gowns, sample and excess stock and to reinvest revenue into sustainable charity development projects around the world with the aim of ending child marriage globally by 2030, one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In the same year, Chantal was selected by NatWest SE100 Index as one of 100 inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and social innovation as part of their WISE100 initiative. Since 2018, Chantal has served as judge for the World Travel and Tourism Council ‘Tourism for Tomorrow’ Awards, the world’s top accolade in sustainable tourism, recognising the highest ethical standards in the sector.
Chantal holds a master’s degree in International Law and a postgraduate Diploma in Law of Arab Countries from the Sorbonne University, Paris. With Lebanese, Italian and Ethiopian origins, Chantal speaks French, English, Arabic, Italian and Spanish.
Cindy Chow
Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund
Executive Director
HONG KONG, CHINA
Cindy Chow has been the Executive Director of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund since 2015. Before assuming her current role, Cindy joined Alibaba Group in 2007 as the Senior Director of International Finance, focusing on financial control and planning capacity. Before joining Alibaba Group, Cindy worked at a number of Hong Kong-listed companies, specialising in financing, management reporting and planning. Cindy holds a Master of Business Administration and is a certified public accountant. She is a non-official member of the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Committee on Innovation, Technology and Re-industrialisation, and volunteers for various organisations dedicated to youth development. Through different initiatives launched by the Fund and in her own capacity, Cindy aspires to help Hong Kong’s entrepreneurs and young realise their dreams in a vibrant world city.
Dee Poon
Esquel Group
Managing Director (Brands and Distribution)
HONG KONG, CHINA
Dee Poon is the Managing Director of Brands and Distribution at Esquel Group, a global leading textile and apparel manufacturer with operations located worldwide.
Dee is a board member of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (Hong Kong), on the International Advisory Committee of Harvard University’s Asia Center (Cambridge, MA), a Member on the Family Advisory Council of The Ownership Project at Oxford Saïd Business School, as well as on the Global Steering Committee of Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health (Hong Kong & London). In 2014, Dee was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and designated a Fellow of Aspen Institute’s China Fellowship Program. In addition to her work in arts, education, and climate change, she is also on the Board of Directors for the Esquel - Y.L. Yang Education Foundation.
Elizabeth Wang
The Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong
Chairman
HONG KONG,CHINA
Make each day count: Be Confidence, always Learning and Love thyself.
Dr. Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun is a widely respected Hong Kong artist who has dedicated herself to the performing arts and entertainment industry. Apart from a successful Singer, Actress, MC and Cantonese Opera Artist, Dr. Wang founded the Boom A Bliss Cantonese Opera Troupe and assumed the position of Chairwoman of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, making her the first woman to have chaired the Association. To date, apart from being the Chairwoman of the said association, she is also actively involved in public services, having served as a member of various charitable organizations. Dr. Wang also served as a Hong Kong/Macau delegate of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 2004, she was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government.
Loretta Fong
PwC Hong Kong
Assurance Partner
Loretta is a partner in PwC's Entrepreneurial Group of the Assurance Division in Hong Kong with extensive experience in serving public and private companies in accounting, audit and consulting services.
Loretta has assisted a number of companies in completing their IPOs in both Hong Kong and the United States, leading numerous substantial transactions including acquisitions, disposals and privatisation of Hong Kong listed companies and registrants with the Securities & Exchange Commissions (“SEC”) of the United States. She is also a frequent speaker at various organisations on accounting and auditing, as well as IPOs and M&A related topics.
External Appointments:
• Council member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“HKICPA”)
• Deputy Chairman of Auditing and Assurance Standards Committee of HKICPA
• Vice Chairman of Finance & Administration Committee of Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (“YWCA”)
• Board Member of the Ocean Park
• Trustee of Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong
• Council member and Treasurer of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Member of the Accountancy Advisory Board of Lingnan University
• Member of Advisory Board on Accounting Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Panel member of Resolvability Review Tribunal
• Panel member of Copyright Tribunal
Loretta is a Certified Public Accountant in Hong Kong (practising), a Certified Public Accountant in the United States, a Certified Management Accountant (US), a Chartered Professional Accountant (Canada) and a Chartered Financial Analyst. She is also a member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (non-practising).
Hillary Yip
Minor Mynas
Founder & CEO
HONG KONG, CHINA
You cannot control the glass ceiling, but you can prove it wrong.
Hillary Yip is the 14-year-old founder and CEO of MinorMynas, a startup which aims to build a global kids community on the safest online platform possible. Hillary is passionate about the future of education, the relationship between kids and technology as well as youth impact in society.
MinorMynas is a global kids community built on an online platform trusted by parents. It allows kids from all over the world to have a common space to make friends, exchange ideas and to learn from each other. By making the whole experience fun and creating a supportive peer-to-peer environment, MinorMynas provides a long-awaited option for kids to use free and screen time more productively.
JULIANA CHAN
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics
HONG KONG, CHINA
Juliana Chan graduated from the University of Liverpool, UK, and is a clinician scientist specialized in diabetes and clinical pharmacology. In 1995, she established the Hong Kong Diabetes Register along with a biobank to characterize the clinical course and discover biogenetic markers for precision medicine in diabetes. In 2007, she established the Asia Diabetes Foundation and designed the web-based Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Program, which combines logistics and information technology to deliver personalized diabetes care. She is a strong advocate to use systems and policies to close the gaps in diabetes care, data and outcomes.
She has published over 500 articles and 20 book chapters and received several awards including the American Diabetes Association Harold Rifkin Award for Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes.
Jin Ling
XiaoMi Corporation
Vice Minister of Organization
CHINA
Women create endless possibilities.
Jin ling entered the field of Internet marketing in 2000. She has worked in Yesky, Allye, China InterActive Corp, ifeng.com and Xiaomi. As the first generation of Internet marketing personnel, from the graphic age, to the video era, and then to the mobile Internet era, Jin ling witnessed and promoted the development of the industry with keen insight, forward-looking thinking and excellent management. Led many companies to increase their advertising revenue several times, and cultivated many outstanding talents for China's Internet marketing industry.
Jin ling joined ifeng.com as Vice President in 2010 and she was promoted to ifeng.com CMO, taking full charge of the marketing work of ifeng.com.
In November 2015, Jin ling joined Xiaomi as Vice President of MIUI. Once again, she set up a team from scratch and faced great challenges. Jin ling led the team to overfulfill the task for three years. Expanded Xiaomi's advertising business from fewer than 100 customers to more than 5,000, and increased its revenue from 1.8 billion to more than 10 billion.
Kimsru Duth
PEPY Empowering Youth / Asian University for Women
Program Manager / Class of 2013
Cambodia
Live and lead with our values, and never compromise.
As a Program Manager at PEPY, Kimsru is very lucky to work with a very passionate team to empower young Cambodian and inspire them to leaders in their communities.
Kimsru was selected to join Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program in the USA, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as joining panel discussion with the Obama Foundation in Singapore. She met with many young emerging leaders to discuss about common challenges and proposed sustainable solutions.
Kimsru strongly believes in Education and how it contributes to the positive changes in people’s lives. Her dream is to bring positive impacts in the society. Through access to better quality of education, young Cambodians will have better quality of lives.
Liu Xin
China Global TV Network (CGTN)
Anchor
CHINA
Liu Xin is a senior host and journalist at China Global TV Network (CGTN). She joined CCTV’s English language service in 1997 and for over a decade, she was the channel’s signature anchor. In 2011, she was posted to Geneva, Switzerland, to set up CCTV’s Geneva Bureau and served as bureau chief for nearly six years.
While there, she covered a wide variety of important multilateral diplomacy stories including the Iran nuclear talks and the political negotiations on Syria. At the end of 2016, she moved back to Beijing to host a brand-new weeknight opinion program called The Point with LIU Xin, on CGTN, China’s international TV. Liu Xin has won numerous awards including twice CCTV’s Top 10 Anchors of the Year award. She was nominated for Best Current Affairs Presenter by the Asian TV Awards in 2018. She speaks excellent English while being fluent in French and conversational in Turkish and German.
Liu Yutong
Gansu Yuanda Investment Group Ltd.
Chairman
CHINA
Ms. Liu Yutong is a member of the management teams of biotechnology company, investment group and pension services association, she also contributes her effort as the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial CPPCC and multiple institutions. She is committed to fulfil the mission and social responsibility of a private enterprise with emphasis on cultural-led development. Under her direction of “Poverty Alleviation by Public Welfare, Knowledge Improvement by Education and Supporting Sports Development”, the charitable donations of Zhongli Biotechnology Group totalled RMB 93 million in the past 20 years.
Ms. Liu is acknowledged as a leading pioneer in social innovation, her achievements including the contracting for afforestation of barren hills from Gansu to Qinghai, Sichuan to Ningxia; fostering international dialogue for development of comprehensive elderly health care industry since 2010, conducting research on the top ten topics of China's pension system with units of the Ministry of Civil Affairs as well as participating in service standards formulation of China's pension system.
In recent years, Ms. Liu has been deeply involved in the poverty alleviation through buckwheat industry. By a strategic research alliances with the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and academia, demonstration on land-use, free seed offer with technical guidance, and signing of a guaranteed purchase agreement, she makes an improvement on the income of farmers and herdsmen. In 2018, the annual income of more than 4,000 farming households exceeded 30,000 yuan, in which more than 16,000 people were benefited from the project. The group aims to increase the total area of buckwheat cultivation to more than 100,000 mu and build a tourism attraction "Buckwheat Town" in 2020. The town will provide employment opportunities for more than 3,000 people with an estimated income of RMB 500 million, integrated facility includes car camping sites, walking tours and racecourses.
Maria Balshaw
Tate Museum
Director
UNITED KINGDOM
Maria Balshaw is Director of Tate, a role she has held since June 2017. She has overall responsibility for Tate’s strategic direction and day to day operations. As Director, Maria is also the Accounting Officer appointed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Previously, as Director of the Whitworth, University of Manchester and Manchester City Galleries, Maria was responsible for the artistic and strategic vision for each gallery. As Director of Culture for Manchester City Council from 2013-2017, Maria played a leading role in establishing the city as a major cultural centre.
Maria is a Board Member of The Clore Leadership Programme and Manchester International Festival, she was a Board Member of Arts Council England until March 2018. Maria was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to the arts in June 2015.
María Pagés
CCMP - Maria Pages Choreographic Center
Founder
SPAIN
If there is something that could define María Pagés’ multi-facetted creativity, it would be her deeply rooted sense of the ethics of culture. She creates because she is convinced that Art is a deep commitment to life and memory, in an organic sense, bringing together the singularity of the ‘I’ and the diversity of the ‘Other’.
Pagés has proved to be a pioneer in the understanding of Flamenco as a contemporary art in constant evolution. Her choreographies have overcome cultural differences, and have been represented in the most prestigious stages in over 30 countries. Maria has been recognized with the most prestigious awards such as the National Dance Award, and the Gold Medal of Honor to the Arts.
Founder of the MP Choreographic Center in Madrid which promotes equality and empowerment for women choreographers, in a world in which female bodies are objectified and dancers seen as beautiful brainless bodies in motion. Investigation, creation, formation and civic action are key words in this Center that is open to everyone willing to learn and to fight for a change.
Martina Fuchs
CNNMoney Switzerland
Anchor
SWITZERLAND
Martina Fuchs is CNNMoney Switzerland Anchor in Zurich and previously worked as Senior Business Reporter for Chinese broadcaster CGTN in Beijing. Before that, she was Reuters Economy Correspondent for the Gulf Arab region in Dubai and Reuters Financial TV Producer in London.
She holds a Master in International Economic History from the University of Geneva, a Postgraduate Diploma in TV Journalism from the American University in Cairo, and a Master of Science in Global Finance from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the New York University (NYU) Stern Business School.
She speaks 9 languages, including: German, French, English, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Swahili.
Martina has interviewed hundreds of top CEOs, business and civil society leaders, global policymakers and thought leaders, such as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, Chinese star pianist Lang Lang, ICBC President Gu Shu, or Grammy Award winner Will.I.Am.
Maya Lin
Regional Director of High Jewellery for Cartier Asia
Promoting social innovation to build a better, more harmonious society leveraging opportunities brought on by economic development
Maya Lin, Cartier Regional High Jewellery Director of Asia, has always been passionate about giving back to the community. Lin’s philanthropic efforts at Cartier distinctly mirror her own philosophy of giving back to the society. Through both work and personal efforts, she supports charitable organizations, dedicating her efforts to understanding social issues and the needs of the less privileged. Lin also cares about art and the well-being of women and children.
Mohammad Naciri
Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and Pacific
Time is Now to realize women’s rights for an equal future.
Mohammad Naciri is the Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and the Pacific. From 2015 to 2018, he was the Regional Director of UN Women in the Arab States. From 2012 to 2015, Mohammad Naciri was the Deputy Regional Director for UN Women in the Arab States.
Mohammad has extensive experience in the region and in gender and development issues. Prior to joining UN Women, Mohammad was the Deputy Country Director of UNDP in Yemen, where he supported the country in the formulation of its Gender Strategy and the Gender Responsive Budgeting process. He has worked in Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Cambodia, dealing with issues ranging from human trafficking to ethnic cleansing.
A national of Morocco, Mohammad holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development from the Harvard University, as well as a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford and in Business Administration from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology in Alexandria-Egypt.
Norma Chu
DayDayCook
Founder
HONG KONG, CHINA
Norma was born and raised in Hong Kong. Prior to DayDayCook, Norma was the head of equities research at HSBC Private Bank. Norma started DayDayCook in 2012 where she turned her passion for cooking into the business. In 2015, Norma brought DayDayCook to Shanghai and entered China Market.
Norma designed DayDayCook to satisfy today’s young female millennial who need for a better lifestyle and has been providing a 360-degree lifestyle experience to them. Company has three major business lines including DDCTV content, E-commerce platform and offline experience centers to form a panoramic and comprehensive brand ecosystem. DayDayCook now is the largest cooking and lifestyle content platform with 80 million active viewers, and has 6 experience centers nationwide.
With the achievement acquired, Norma was named as China New Media Top 100 people in 2016 and CY Zone’s 2017 Most Notable Female Entrepreneurs, and was featured in Apple Store’s Cover Story in November 2018.
Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg
Bank of Israel
Former Deputy Governor
ISRAEL
Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg was born in Montreal, Canada where she was the first woman in Quebec to obtain the prestigious Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University in the UK, where she received her MA in Philosophy-Politics and Economics. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in the US.
She moved to Israel in 1985, where her career spanned Academia, two decades in the private sector mostly in Banking and Asset Management, and more recently in public policy as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Israel (BoI) for a 5-year term. She was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, led the setup for the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the establishment of the National Credit Registry and was also responsible for the relationship with the Palestinian Monetary Authority.
She is a renowned speaker on Economic Policy, Central Banking and the Role of Women in the Economy.She is the mother of 3 daughters and grandmother of 4 grandchildren.
Patti Wong
Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and Sotheby’s Diamonds
Patti Wong is one of the most experienced Asians working in the auction world today. She has extensive knowledge in dealing with clients throughout the Far East and has represented major Asian collectors at most of Sotheby's auctions worldwide for over two decades. During Mrs. Wong’s fifteen years in London she held the post of Head of Private Client Services which was followed by her appointment as Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia in 2004. Mrs. Wong was also appointed Chairman of Sotheby’s Diamonds, a global retail venture established in 2005 providing clients with private access to important diamonds and fine diamond jewellery.
Mrs. Wong received her bachelor’s degree in Monetary Economics from the London School of Economics, followed by a post graduate diploma in Asian Arts at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.
Rachel Freeman
AMTD International Inc
Director, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer
HONG KONG, CHINA
Women are significant contributors to technology advancement and disruption. Our voices need to be heard to amplify our impact.
Rachel Freeman joined AMTD as Director and Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer in June 2019. Ms. Freeman is an experienced and internationally recognized finance expert, especially in the areas of cross-border financial services and innovative financial technologies. Before joining AMTD, Ms. Freeman served as Manager of Asia Pacific Advisory, Financial Institutions Group (Hong Kong) for International Finance Corporation (IFC) since 2014, and led the design and implementation of client solutions in digital banking, bank-fintech collaboration, climate change/green finance, SME finance, Banking on Women, and agri digital solutions. She also held several senior positions within IFC, including Manager of Access to Finance in East Asia Pacific, Senior Operations Officer in Central Asia, and Regional Business Line Leader in Africa. Prior to joining IFC, Ms. Freeman also worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of State between 1997 and 2000. She holds an MBA degree from University of Michigan Business School, and had completed the Executive Education program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Sabrina Lin
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Vice-President for Institutional Advancement
HONG KONG, CHINA
Sabrina Lin is the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, with responsibilities for development and fundraising, alumni relations, public affairs, and university, government and enterprise partnerships. Prior to joining HKUST, Sabrina spent 30 years in the IT sector in Silicon Valley and Asia Pacific regions, including Corporate Vice President positions at Fortune 100 companies, as well as co-founder of start-up companies. Sabrina began her professional career as a software engineer.A native of Hong Kong, Sabrina completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in statistics and psychology at Stanford University. A mother of four, she enjoys jogging, hiking and exploring the world with her family.
Liu Shan
Tencent
Distinguished Scientist & General Manager
CHINA
Curiosity and passion are the engines of innovation.
Liu Shan is a Distinguished Scientist and General Manager at Tencent where she heads the Tencent Media Lab. Prior to joining Tencent she was the Chief Scientist and Head of America Media Lab at Futurewei Technologies. She was formerly Director of Multimedia Technology Division at MediaTek USA. She was also formerly with MERL, Sony and IBM. Dr. Liu is the inventor of more than 200 US and global patent applications and the author of more than 50 journal and conference articles. She actively contributes to international standards such as ITU-T H.265 | ISO/IEC HEVC, MPEG-DASH, MPEG-I, etc. and served as co-Editor of H.265/HEVC v4 and MPEG-I VVC. She was in technical and organizing committees, or an invited speaker, at various international conferences including IEEE ICIP, VCIP, ICNC, ICME, MIPR and ACM Multimedia. She served in Industrial Relationship Committee of IEEE Signal Processing Society 2014-2015. She was the VP of Industrial Relations and Development of Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association (APSIPA) 2016-2017 and was named the Industrial Distinguished Leader of APSIPA in 2018. Dr. Liu obtained her B.Eng. degree in Electronics Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
Shekeba Ahmadi
Women for Justice Organization (WJO)/Asian University for Women
Program Coordinator / Class of 2018
AFGANISTAN
"The unique organization of WPF brings together women from diverse backgrounds to create a common sharing and learning platform."
Shekeba Ahmadi develops and monitors essential programs at the Women for Justice Organization, which is Afghanistan's first female-led non-profit public interest law firm. She is a native Afghan and she has contributed to nonprofit community in Singapore, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan for the last six years starting from being an intern. She is the former Research Officer of The Liaison Office (TLO), Afghanistan. Being the first child among her five siblings, she did not only accomplish schooling but she also obtained BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) with a minor in Development study. She is determined to going for higher education, and becoming an influential figure to make a difference. Shekeba does photography and filmmaking as a recreational activity.
Shirley Yeung
UNESCO Hong Kong Association
Associate Vice President
HONG KONG, CHINA
Dr. Shirley Yeung is an educator on issues around leadership and innovation, and an advocate for sustainability in business. She is an award-winning university academic, whose work has been recognized by the Hang Seng Management College, now a private university. She has a formal education in supply chain management, auditing and quality management topics on which she has a considerable list of academic publications.
In 2017, Shirley was appointed an Associate Vice President of the United Nations Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s Hong Kong Association, a charitable body promoting sustainable development and international exchanges . In that role she has been fully engaged in fostering sustainability and management at a global level. She is also involved in grassroots organisations and enjoys yoga.
Yan Lan
Lazard Asia (Hong Kong) Limited
Vice Chairman of Investment Banking, Chairman & CEO of Greater China
CHINA
Ms. Yan Lan joined Lazard since 2011 and she is the Vice Chairman of Lazard Investment Banking, Chairman and CEO of Lazard Greater China. She leads Lazard Greater China team in cooperation with the Lazard global network in advising cross-border M&A transactions involving Chinese and Foreign companies.
Prior to joining Lazard, Lan worked during 20 years as French lawyer. She became the first woman partner in the law firm before back to Beijing, charge of Gide Loyrette Nouel’s Beijing office, advising French and European companies for their investment in China.
In 1977, Lan went to Pekin Foreign languages institute for Bachelor’s degree in French Literature and then in 1982, to the Law school at Peking University for LLM. In 1984, she went to Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland to get a PHD in Law.
Today Yan Lan also serves as board member of Carrefour Group, a board member of Château de Versailles, member of the International advisory board of HEC Paris. During the past 15 years, Lan has been very active in the women’s forums and engaged closely in various women’s networking events.
In 2017, Yan Lan published her first book « chez les Yan » in French awarded by Prix Simone Veil in France. (The English translation « The House of Yan, a family at the heart of a Century of Chinese history » will be published in January 2020)
Pansy Ho
Chairperson of the Hong Kong Federation of Women, Chairperson of the Women Power Forum
Raising women's voice, unleashing women's potential.
Ms. Pansy Ho, Chairperson of Hong Kong Federation of Women and Chairperson of Women Power Forum, is the Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited, Co-Chairperson and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited. She also holds a respectable number of executive roles in various entities in Hong Kong and Macau.
Outside of the boardroom, Ms. Ho serves on a host of social and public services, including being a Standing Committee Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference of Beijing, Executive Committee Member of All-China Women’s Federation, Vice President of China Chamber of Tourism and China Women’s Chamber of Commerce under All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce, Vice President of China Association of Women Entrepreneurs, Vice President of Hong Kong Beijing Association, President of Beijing-Macau Economic and Cultural Exchange Promotion Association, Vice President of Macao Chamber of Commerce, Founder and Chairperson of Global Tourism Economy Research Centre. Leveraging her own resources and networks, Ms. Ho forged the establishment of high-level platforms for arts and cultural exchange and tourism development. With a special passion for women and youth empowerment, she is committed to nurturing and inspiringthe younger generation, especially fellow females, through various training and exchange programs to unleash their potentials for the contribution to the development of the region, China and the world.
For her outstanding contribution to public services and the promotion of global tourism, art and cultural exchanges and development , Ms. Ho has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Beijing Overseas Chinese Jing Hua Award by the Beijing Municipal Government, Chevalier de I’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur by the Government of France, and Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia by the Government of Italy, a Justice of the Peace by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Tourism Ambassador of the United Nation's World Tourism Organization.