Dr Albert Lam

Chief Scientist & CTO, Fano Labs

B.Eng. (2005), Ph.D. (2010), HKU.

About:

Dr Albert Lam was a postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences of University of California, Berkeley.

He is now the Chief Technology Officer and the ChiefScientist at Fano Labs, a deep-tech startup specializing in speech and language technologies enabled by AI. He also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in both EEE and Geography at HKU, and a Croucher research fellow.

He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, and IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational Intelligence.

Co-Founder, Advisory Board Member and Principal Scientific Advisor, Immuno Cure

Director and Tenured Chair Professor of Immunology and Immunotherapy AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong

About:

Since 1991, Prof. Chen has been engaged in studies of HIV origin, molecular mechanisms of HIV/SIV entry, and AIDS vaccine. After the SARS outbreak in 2003, he studied SARS-CoV vaccine and mechanism underlying vaccine-enhanced acute lung injury. In recent years, he is studying COVID-19 vaccine and immunopathogenesis underlying the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed SCI papers with 15900 citations. He currently serves as an editorial board member for AIDS, JAIDS, JMP and JNIP.  He was ranked Ranked by Clarivate Analytics as the top 1% worldwide by citations and one of HKU academics among Highly Cited Researchers 2022 and 2023. He won three HKU Excellence Awards including Knowledge Exchange Excellence Award (2019), Outstanding Researcher Award (2020-2021) and Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award (2020-2021) (http://www.med.hku.hk/aidsinst).

Prof. Chen published his research on the use of soluble PD-1 based DNA vaccine and of anti-Δ42PD1 antibody drug in Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2013 and Nature Microbiology in 2017, respectively. These novel strategies are currently covered by patents from the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office and the People’s Republic of China State Intellectual Property Office Patent.

CEO and Founder, PressLogic

About:

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mr. Ryan Cheung Ho Chak graduated from BBA (Accounting and Finance), The University of Hong Kong. He started his career in an investment bank. At the age of 26, he joined Leonteq Securities AG (formerly known as EFG Financial Products) as the youngest Director in Asia, responsible for structured solutions business and expanding its Asia franchise.

Believing in the future of big data and AI technology, Mr. Cheung quitted the banking field and founded PressLogic with his partner in 2016. He is the CEO and Founder of PressLogic, the leading lifestyle digital media for Millennials, which has accumulated over 12 million Facebook & Instagram followers within a couple of years. The unprecedented fast-growing record of PressLogic has attracted the market’s attention. In 2018, PressLogic has successfully raised its Series A funding of USD 10 million. Now with over 200 employees worldwide, PressLogic has expanded into a diversified group of businesses that include AI Brandtech SaaS, Date-Driven Content Marketing, and Local Lifestyle E-Commerce, boasting operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Korea and Malaysia.

Acknowledged by Asia Tatler, Mr. Cheung has become an honouree of ‘Generation T 2019’, the definitive list of young leaders shaping Asia’s future, as well as part of the 2020 Tatler Hot List: 25 Entrepreneurs Who Are Shaping Our Future.

Mr. Cheung has been actively contributing back to society and the startup community. He currently serves as a member of the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food, Food and Health Bureau. He acts as a mentor of the HKU Business School Mentorship Programme since 2020. As a startup pioneer, he is a mentor of the iDendron Incubation Program by the University of Hong Kong since 2019; and a Melo CEO of Project Melo (pilot class of 2021), a programme nurturing a new generation of Hong Kong leaders.

CEO, Nirmidas BioTech

Deputy Director, Technology Transfer Office, The University of Hong Kong

About:

Dr Meijie Tang began her career as a Project Lead and Staff Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In 2014, she became the CEO of Nirmidas Biotech, Inc., where her responsibilities included daily management and operation, team leadership, business planning, and fund raising. Meijie also created a vision and articulated the vision to inspire business and people.

Meijie Tang received a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Materials Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1990 to 1995. Prior to that, she attended Tsinghua University from 1985 to 1990.

Moderator

Founder and Chairman of Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited

Adjunct Professor, the Faculty of Engineering (Department of Computer Science), the Faculty of Social Sciences (Department of Geography) and the Faculty of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong

About:

Dr Winnie Tang is the founder and chairman of Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited, a leading geographic information system (GIS) technology firm. She is also the founder and honorary president of the Smart City Consortium.

Dr Tang has dedicated her career to bridging technology and social development through various roles in NGOs, government organizations, and academia, promoting innovations in ICT, eHealth, environmental conservation, and smart cities. Her significant contributions include leading the development of the “SARS Global Map” during the 2003 outbreak, founding the eHealth Consortium, and initiating the Asia eHealth Information Network.

Dr Tang has been instrumental in enhancing education and environmental awareness through the “Map in Learning” program and the “Treeprint 2.0” app. She supports young entrepreneurs with scholarships and startup funds and advises on urban planning and smart city development in Hong Kong. Recognized for her work, she has received numerous awards and honors, including the Honorary Fellow by Lingnan University and the Distinguished Alumni by the Faculty of Science, HKU.

Panelist

Senior Executive Director, Gobi Partners GBA

About:

Fred is a graduate of The University of Hong Kong where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance, and is a HKICPA Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA).

Fred serves as the Sr. Executive Director of Gobi Partners. He Started his career at Deloitte Advisory, and held various positions in PE / VC funds, incl. Ocean Equity Partners, CLSA Capital Partners, and Hywin International. His experience also includes business management and turnaround, serving as Group General Manager at Gaia Group. He has a focus on sectors such as healthcare, GreenTech and specialises in university spin–off ventures.

Gobi Partners was founded in 2002 with headquarters in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Gobi Partners is recognized as one of the top venture capital firms in China and the rest of Asia.  It has over 21 years of on-the-ground experience in Asia’ and has backed over 380 start-ups across 19 funds in 16 locations, including 10 unicorns in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and North Asia.

Gobi Partners GBA is the general partner of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund（AEF）as well as the AEF Greater Bay Area Fund and has formed strategic partnerships with other renowned financial institutions such as HSBC and Hang Seng Bank. As of 2023, Gobi GBA has invested in over 80 startups across the Greater Bay Area and has fostered the growth of 7 unicorns including Airwallex, Amber, Animoca Brands, GoGoX, Prenetics, and more.

Partner, Huagai Capital

LLB. (2000), PCLL. (2001), HKU

About:

Kevin Chow is a distinguished investment professional with a Bachelor of Laws and PCLL from the University of Hong Kong and a Doctor of Science in Global Finance from Tsinghua University’s PBC School of Finance in collaboration with Temple University.

Qualified as solicitor of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region High Court, Kevin currently serves as Partner in Huagai Capital. He had held significant roles including Head of Investment at SF Group, Senior Vice President at Li & Fung Group, Executive Director at China Renaissance, and solicitor at Linklaters.

With extensive experience in both domestic and international investments, M&A, and capital markets, he has successfully led and investment projects exceeding 20 billion RMB, including Flexport, DeepWay, Juepei Supply Chain, WorldEx, among others.

Kevin has also earned recognition among the “Top 100 Figures in the Equity Investment Industry” by Fund of Funds Weekly.

Chief Financial Officer, HKSTP

About:

Mr. Aldous Mak is a seasoned finance and accounting professional with more than 20 years’ experience in financial planning, controllership, risk management, corporate advisory, business operations and financial system integration. He joined HKSTP as Chief Financial Officer in May 2019 to oversee Finance, IT, Process Re-engineering and Procurement, as well as providing advice on investments, corporate development and business decisions. He is also leading ongoing efforts within the Corporation to drive efficiency and effectiveness to maximise business results.

Aldous obtained his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Accountancy) and master’s degree in Business Administration from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He began his career as an Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong. Prior to joining HKSTP, he held various management roles, including Director of Finance at Hong Kong Disneyland. He is a Certified Public Accountant (Practising) with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a Fellow member of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.