Can ESG Flourish in China's Greater Bay Area?
VIEW EVENT DETAILSASHK Members Program: 2024 CEIBS Innovation Forum and Networking Reception
RUNDOWN:
13:00 Registration
13:30 Welcoming Remarks
13:45 Opening Address
13:55 Keynote Speech 1: The Economic Integration and Development of the Greater Bay Area in a Changing Environment
14:25 Keynote Speech 2: 130 Years of Corporate Responsibility: What have we learned from the great minds?
14:45 ESG White Paper Release and Panel Discussion
15:55 Keynote Speech 3
16:10 Closing remarks
16:15 Networking Reception
17:15 End
ASHK Members Tickets: Complimentary
This program will be conducted in English and Putonghua with simultaneous translation.
Asia Society Hong Kong Center is proud to act as a co-organizer for the 2024 China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) Innovation Forum: Can ESG flourish in China’s Greater Bay Area? Co-organized with the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association, Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Caixin Insight, this program is complimentary for ASHK Members.
The Greater Bay Area is symbolic of China’s economic transformation over the past four decades, standing today as an innovation hub and economic gateway to the global market. As a meeting point of East and West in the realms of business, finance, and culture, this is a region that always has something important to say about China’s economic future. Here, just as they are around the globe, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives are becoming an increasingly important part of this story. As the place where Chinese funds meet European and American funds in which ESG requirements are becoming increasingly commonplace, the effects are already felt in the GBA.
At this international forum, we will look at the macroeconomic trends shaping the future of the Greater Bay Area before taking a deep dive into the latest developments in ESG and what they mean for the region. The event will also see the official launch of the annual CEIBS ESG White Paper, examining the ways in which ESG generates value for companies.
What is driving the move towards ESG in the GBA region and the wider world? How will these changes impact the overall business climate? What are the benefits of ESG to enterprises and investors, and what are the perils of ignoring it? Find out all this and more at the 2024 CEIBS Innovation Forum.
Keynote Speakers
Charles Li Xiaojia is the Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect, a startup building a new financial ecosystem that connects global capital to the real economy of China and will bring about unprecedented transparency, forecasting, insights, and returns in the world of micro business investing.
Charles was formerly Chief Executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). During his time with HKEX, he orchestrated some of the most significant strategic initiatives in HKEX’s history, including the acquisition of the London Metal Exchange in 2012, the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect cross-border trading scheme in 2014, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016, Bond Connect in 2017, and the Listing Reforms in 2018. Prior to joining HKEX in 2009, Mr. Li served as Chairman of JP Morgan China and President of Merrill Lynch China.
He obtained a BA degree from Xiamen University of China in 1984, a MA degree from the University of Alabama in 1988 and a JD degree from Columbia University School of Law in New York in 1991.
Hongyu Shan is an Assistant Professor of Finance at CEIBS. Prior to joining CEIBS, he was an Assistant Professor of Finance at Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. Dr. Shan received his Ph.D. in Finance from University of Florida and B.A. in Economics from University of Michigan.
Dr. Shan’s research interests focus on understanding the impact of climate change and other ESG initiatives on financial market and corporate decision making. His research work was published on the Review of Financial Studies and has been presented at numerous conferences including American Finance Association Meeting, Western Finance Association Meeting, SFS Cavalcade and CICF. Besides, his work has won the PVH Corp Social Innovation Fellowship by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation in 2020.
Dr. Shan taught ESG Investment, Alternative Data Analysis etc. He was the committee member of Financial Management Association and is the referee of the Review of Financial Studies, Management Science and Journal of Banking & Finance.
Wong Wai-lun, Michael, GBS, JP, is Deputy Financial Secretary of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Mr. Wong joined the Government's Administrative Service in 1985 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in 2017. He has served in various bureaux and departments. He was appointed Director of Information Services in 2009, Director of Marine in 2014, and was Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) from 2015 to 2017.
Mr. Wong served as Secretary for Development from July 2017 to June 2022. He was appointed Deputy Financial Secretary on 1 July 2022.
Dingbo Xu is Essilor Chair Professor in Accounting and Associate Dean at CEIBS. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Accounting at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He was a visiting professor at Peking University and also taught for the University of Minnesota's China EMBA programme. He has received several teaching awards, including the CEIBS Teaching Excellence Award in 2004 and 2005, the prestigious CEIBS Medal for Teaching Excellence in 2009, and several most popular professor awards by CEIBS MBA, EMBA, and Executive Education students.
Dr. Xu received his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Minnesota. He earned both his master's degree in Management and bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Wuhan University. His research focuses on mechanism design, the role of accounting information disclosure on management decision-making, performance evaluation and incentive. His research has been published in several academic journals and books.
Professor Xu is the vice-president of China Association of Chief Financial Officers, the executive director of the editorial board of China Management Accounting Review and the founding chairman of CGMA 100 North Asia Leaders Think Tank. Professor Xu has designed and delivered company specific programmes for a number of companies, such as GE, IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lenovo, CATIC Group, Schneider Electric, Moutai Group, TCL Group, Mengniu, China Investment Corporation, Tencent, COFCO, Sany Group, Bank of China, and Sinochem Group, etc. He served on the board of directors of The People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC), Shanghai Shyndec Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., China Cinda Asset Management Co. Ltd., SANY Heavy Industry, Kweichow Moutai Company Limited, Societe Generale (China) Ltd. etc. He currently serves on the board of JD.com and China Trust Protection Fund Co., Ltd.
Panelists and Speakers
Frank Bournois is Vice President and Dean of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). He joined CEIBS in April 2023. Beginning in 2014, Prof. Bournois served as Executive President and Dean of ESCP Business School, the oldest and one of the most international business schools in the world with campuses in Berlin (Germany), London (UK), Madrid (Spain), Paris (France), Turin (Italy) and Warsaw (Poland). He was a full Professor of General Management and Cross-Cultural Leadership at Paris Panthéon-Assas University from 1997 to 2014, and he has supervised more than 70 doctoral students. He also served as Chairman of the National Committee for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Business Schools at the Ministries of Industry and Higher Education from 2009 to 2013.
Prof. Frank Bournois is a FRSA-Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (UK), and holds a Ph.D. in Business Strategy from the University of Lyon (France), an MBA from Aston University (UK), a Master in Management from EM Lyon (France) and DSc from City University of London (UK).
Prof. Bournois specialises in corporate governance and the study of how large European firms identify, manage and develop their future leaders. He has provided consulting services for companies such as Airbus, Bouygues, EDF, L’Oréal and Safran. Since 2019, he has served as a Member of the Global Supervisory Board of Mazars, a leading audit and advisory firm where he also chairs the Audit Committee.
Prof. Bournois is the author or co-author of 20 books, including The Handbook of Top Management Teams (Palgrave, 2010). He is an Officer in the Legion of Honour and a Commander in the Order of Merit (France), and has been awarded the Gold Medal for Education (Lebanon).
GAO Erji is Vice President of Caixin Media, heading funding and investment. He is also Executive President of Caixin Insight and Managing Director of Caixin Data, leading the financial information services.
Before joining Caixin Media, Mr. GAO was Vice President in Dept. of M&A in CITIC Securities, and having IB experience in America, Europe and Asia. Before joining CITIC Securities, Mr. GAO worked in the investment banking division of HSBC, covering HK equity financing and cross boarder M&A transactions. Mr. GAO holds both MA and BA from Tsinghua University. He co-founded an Alumni Scholarship to the undergraduates in Tsinghua in 2011, joined the Volunteered Alumni Mentorship Program since 2012, and was elected as a member of the Alumni Association of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in 2023.
Mr. GAO is acting as a valued advisor to many world-wide influential think-tanks, including Industry Expert of Digital Economy Committee of APEC, Member of the SCEWC Greater China Advisory Board, Invited Researcher of the China Carbon Neutrality Forum, Independent Board Member of Zhangjiakou News Media Group Co., Ltd, etc. Due to a long-standing commitment to intercultural communication, he was selected for the Young Leader program of the USA and Italian Council in 2014, and co-founded China-Japan Young Leadership Program in 2015.
Elton Huang is Executive President of GLP China. Elton leads the renewable energy business and oversees China corporate functions including finance, legal, corporate communications, IT, and ESG.
Before GLP, Elton was with PwC for nearly 30 years and served in key leadership roles such as China Managing Partner and Asia-Pacific & China Tax Leader, overseeing diverse clients from government entities, state-owned enterprises, to private and foreign businesses, thereby gaining deep insights into the Chinese business landscape and opportunities across industries.
Elton holds various advisory positions for government bodies and social organizations, such as advisor to the International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai (IBLAC), while also being recognized as a leading talent in Shanghai since 2015.
Elton graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and holds an EMBA from China Europe International Business School. He currently serves as Chairman of the Risk Management Committee of Jiao Tong University Foundation, member of the CEIBS Alumni Association Council, trustee of Wellington School, and as a Blair Academy International Board Member.
S. Alice Mong is President of Asia Society Hong Kong Center (ASHK), an independent non-governmental educational organization established in 1990. Ms. Mong previously served as the Executive Director of ASHK from August 2012 until 2024, and as a consultant to ASHK in preparation for the February 2012 opening of its permanent home at the Former Explosives Magazine in Admiralty. Prior to ASHK, Ms. Mong worked in New York for almost a decade in the non-profit sector in senior management positions. She was the Director of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) from 2009 to 2011, overseeing the expansion project of the 30-year-old organization. She stepped down as Museum Director in July 2011 after successfully transforming the museum from a New York Chinatown institution into a leading national museum dedicated to preserving and presenting the history, heritage, culture and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States. Ms. Mong also served as the Executive Director for the Committee of 100 in the United States, a Chinese-American non-profit membership organization founded by architect I.M. Pei and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She began her career at the Ohio Department of Development in Ohio, and later became Managing Director of the Ohio Office of East and Southeast Asia in Hong Kong. Ms. Mong worked for Hang Lung Property Group from 1995 to 2002. She serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of The Ohio State University Alumni Association.
Shameen Prashantham is a Professor of International Business and Strategy and Associate Dean (MBA) at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, China. Prior to joining CEIBS, he taught at Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) China and the University of Glasgow. He pursued doctoral and post-doctoral research at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.
Prof. Prashantham is best known for his work on partnering between large corporations and startups – which he refers to as “dancing with gorillas.” This focus evolved from his extensive research on new venture internationalization. He is also interested in strategy-as-practice and is currently focused on partnerships that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
His latest book, Gorillas Can Dance: Lessons from Microsoft and Other Corporations on Partnering with Startups, offers managers in large corporations a proven guide to partnering and collaborating with startups to improve innovation by delivering the “where,” “why,” and “how” of corporation-startup partnerships. His academic research has also been published in journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies and Organization Studies.
Olivia Wong is MTR Corporation Limited’s General Manager for Environmental & Social Responsibility and is responsible for formulating and implementing clear and effective strategies in achieving MTR's social and environmental objectives and in championing the corporation's ESG efforts and commitments. Prior to joining MTR, Olivia spent 30+ years with the Swire group in different business units including Cathay Pacific and Swire Properties. Her most recent role in John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd was the Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion. Olivia was previously Director HR & Administration at Swire Properties Ltd and General Manager – Leadership Development at John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd, and Managing Director at Ethos International Ltd, with responsibility for recruiting and fostering talent for the Swire Group. She joined Cathay Pacific as management trainee and had almost 20 years of broad management experience in Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, South East Asia and Europe. Olivia graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She also has an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Hao Xu serves as Tencent’s Vice President of Sustainable Social Value (SSV), leading the company’s overall carbon neutrality strategy and its Carbon Neutrality Lab. Dr. Xu is responsible for driving Tencent’s carbon neutrality agenda, exploring how digital solutions can help reduce emissions, supporting low-carbon technologies, and promoting a sustainable lifestyle among consumers. Prior to Tencent, Dr. Xu was a partner at McKinsey & Co, leading its sustainability practice in Greater China, Southeast Asia, and India. He also worked with public institutions such as the World Economic Forum and the UK government. Dr. Xu obtained his undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology from Nanjing University, and also holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Nottingham, as well as a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Sheffield.
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The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.
Event Details
Jockey Club Hall, Asia Society Hong Kong Center