Phoenix, Special Edition 2004

Abstract

Phoenix HKUST MBA Alumni Newsletter Special Edition: 10th Graduation Anniversary MBA Class of 1994 Those Were the Past Ten Years, My Friends (1994-2004) It was a time when the Union Jack still flew in Hong Kong when Christopher Francis Pattern was governor , and when thousands of Hong Kong families were leaving the territory ahead the loom of the 1997 handover, The world was also quite different then. There was no internet at home, no single European currency, and no starbucks around the corner of the streets of Hong Kong. History has made more unexpected turns since then. Who in Hong Kong was not affected by the Asian financial crisis, the bursting of the high-tech and property bubbles, and the SARS epidemic? What could leave a more long-lasting mark around the world than Sept 11, 2001. These are the ten eventful years since the MBA class of 1994 graduated. Each of the stories that follow describe a fair share of joy and anguish, victory and struggle, What makes them special is that they are the program’s pioneers who made the bold and wise decision to be the first HKUST MBA students- the ones we are most proud of. HKUST Soars The First Decade

Phoenix Special Edition The Golden Pass to an Exciting Career Ten years ago when the HKUST MBA was still an unfamiliar name to most people yet already regarded as the best local business school by his employer, Andy Yuen received his golden MBA pass and differentiated himself from his peers and colleagues. The program polished his soft skills like communication and presentation techniques, and boosted his confidence especially during his exchange to UC Berkeley where he met students from other top business schools. Some of his Berkeley friends became colleagues and competitors during the past ten years of his career in investment banking. In 2003, after staying with the same firm for over ten years, Andy was promoted to become a director of Citigroup Private Bank, responsible for the bank’s Asia Pacific equity business. Within the same company, he had worked in four different business groups reporting to at least six different bosses. The ability to manage and adapt to changes, be they internal within the company or external in the markets, is very important in the current banking industry he said. It is stressful, yet exciting. With the birth of his son this year, Andy is now planning to slow down his crazy work life. Although he is no longer making as many golf trips as before, he is still a big fan of good food and rice watches, The world is full of tradeoffs, Money can’t buy everything so be happy and stay healthy. Andy Yuen Hang Seng Bank (1990-92) Swiss Bank Corporation (1992), Citibank Hong Kong/Citigroup Private Bank. Six Years as a Londoner Life is unpredictable and is full of surprises. Joise Wong, the chief representative of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in London and New York, never expected a life that revolves around some of the world’s most interesting and cosmopolitan cities after she graduated in 1994, Her job requires her to monitor the Hong Kong dollars trading activities and to represent HKMA at international conferences in the two cities. The role offers her chances to meet some of the most powerful and influential people on the global financial landscape. How could I ever anticipate to be in a meeting with Alan Greenspan that was chaired by Gordon Brown she said.

On the peroanl front, Josie made two major life achievements. First she successfully completed a half marathon in 2 hours 15 minutes. This was a real accomplishment for Josie who hardly ever ran before. Her then-boyfriend, a more experienced marathon runner, who kept her accompanied and offered her support throughout the race, proposed to her the day after the race. The second accomplishment , as you would have guessed, is that she got married last year. My husband and I met some 17 years ago when we were both fresh out of college, but we hardly saw each other or even lived in the same city thereafter she said sweetly. Fate somehow brought us together again and we are, for the time being very happily settled in London, I am now beginning my sixth year as Londoner and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. My next step who knows Joise Wong HSBC (1987-92), Schroders (1992-94), Hong Kong Monetary Authority (1994-present)

Surviving Asia Financial Crisis The Hong Kong stock market collapsed. The internet bubble burst. Despair and pessimism loomed over Hong Kong’s economy. The Deputy Managing Director of Tai Fook Capital Limited and the Executive Director of its securities arm, responsible for selecting quality companies in Hong Kong and the PRC to list in the Hong Kong stock exchange, Derek Chan, recalled the doomsday situation in which everybody tried desperately to sell their personal investments; There were too many sad stories, and I am glad that mine was not one of them he said it was a time when good companies were forced to liquidate and shell activities to be dissolved. Yet life still went on with the positive thought that you were not alone. Realizing that everyone in Hong Kong was in the same boat, Derek and his tam persisted and survived the Asian financial crisis without panicking, or they would have missed their golden comeback opportunity during the China Boom That followed. Not knowing how to say a single word in Mandarin in 1998. Derek was frustrated by his inability to sell his products in the Mainland effectively. Persistence, sincerity and an open mind to learn eventually paid its dividend, and his local clientele began to show understanding, appreciation and confidence in his professional services. Now a Mandarin speaker with a strong Hong Kong accent, Derek believes that Hong Kong’s excellent financial system, coupled with its ability to deliver world-class services, is a role model for China. The father of a six-year old son and a four-year old daughter, Derek aims at converging his personal and career goal of anchoring a firm foothold in the Mainland. Derek Chan Secondary School Teacher (1986-89), Hong Kong Stock Exchange (1989-96), Tai Fook Securities Group (1996- A New Phase in Life After 911 Jessica Wong was not prepared for a situation like this. A Goldman Sachs executive director in a two-year secondment at the corporate headquarters in New York City, she could not believe that the worst terrorist attack in human history happened right next door to her office we all know what happened in that infamous day of September 11, 2001, Like all other New Yorkers still alive, her life was greatly affected, She was unable to return to the office until four days later, and she could not return to her own Battery Park apartment in Lower Manhattan for three months. While the city lived in fear, Jessica did not exactly know how to react to the chain of horrible events. But as she witnessed the emotions and the changes in value the incident had brought to her local colleagues, Jessica found herself pondering the meaning of life. Through the incident, I finally saw the human faces and the true hearts of the Americans. The impact on them was profound. Some of my divorced friends even resumed their marriages, she remarked. I’ve become a less pushy person now, as I learn to accept that people can have different priorities. In my case, I try to strive for the right balance between my work and personal life. Jessica Wong Barclays de Zoete Wedd (1990-93) Lehman brothers(1993-96) Goldman Sacks (1997-present)

The 5P’s of Success A chartered surveyor who began his career in the real-estate profession in 1977, SC was a high-flying executive in the 15 years that followed, Soon after he set up his own company in Hong Kong in 1992, he re-directed his business to Guangzhou trying to take the first-mover advantage in the real estate services market which was still at a formative stage. The move probably shielded his business from what could have been a disaster during the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, thanks to the worldwide IT fever, he formed a partnership with a very well respected Hong Kong listed company called MyTopHome to provide real estate agency related services online. The company subsequently modified the business model as the market situation changed an SC eventually took over MyTopHome from his partner in 2003, the Company with subsidiaries, now operates the largest real estate brokerage and mortgages services company in Guangzhou. A family man with a son and a daughter, SC was proud to be a founding HKUST MBA graduate. I like new things and growing them is like nurturing my own children- I want them to become better and better, SC said. Truly convinced by the value of the HKUST MBA program, his companies are currently sponsoring four senior employees to study in the Shenzhen MBA program. SC continued commitment and support to the University was confirmed and recognized by his contribution as a corporate advisor to the School of Business and Management, a director of the board of HKUST RandD Corporation Ltd. And an Honorary Fellow of HKUST. In addition to his HKUST involvements, SC is a member of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. LIU Sing Cheong Swire Properties (1977-1982), Hsin Chong Real Estates Management & Agency Ltd (1982-1986), Wayfoong Property Agency Ltd (1986-1988), Knight Frank Kan & Ba (1988-1992), Hang Cheong Surveyors Ltd (1992- SC shares his 5P’s of success: Passion- You can only be successful in closing what you like this is the most fundamental. Product – the product is yourself and you want to make yourself a high quality person to be welcomed as a friend or a business associate. Price – Try not to put a price on yourself but be prepared to sacrifice short term benefits for the long-term benefits of your goal. Promotion- I see this as the people’s endorsement through their association with you. This has a lot to do with self-training,

Career Crisis in the Promised Fung Wai Chung started his first job at the MTRC with a promising future. In March 2002, the company lost its bid for a big railway project and the whole project team had to be dissolved, As a result, Chung became redundant and was laid off, Shocked and feeling helpless for the first time in his 17 years of a calm and peaceful career, he did not tell his family or friends about the incident, and was anxious to get out of the desperate situation. Thanks to his MBA training which had been instrumental while serving the MTRC, Chung found a new job at the KCRC very quickly. Never take things for granted and always be prepared for change and crisis, said Chung, now KCRC’s senior civil engineer, My MBA education allowed me to look at thing from the company’s perspective, and I now understand why tough management decisions and organizational changes were necessary and inevitable.

To relieve stress, Chung started training for the Trailwalker, an annual 100-km charity hike on the MacLehose Trail, which required him to overcome harsh situations in the mountains with courage and confidence, Chung will join the Trailwalker for the seventh time this year with a target to finish within 20 hours (within the official time limit of 48) He is also active in dragon boat racing and rowing. Fung Wai chung Gammon Construction Ltd (1986-1989), Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (1989-1990), Wharf Hotel Group (1990-1992), Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (MTRC)(1992-2003), Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation limited(KCRC) (2003-present)

A Passion that Money Can’t Buy How would you choose between a job that pays Hk$250,000 a month as an investment banker at JP Morgan and a job as an Inventor or an entrepreneur? With a strong passion for linguistics, Ahmad Ayaz decided to end his 18-year long financially –rewarding career and devote several years to developing a new language teaching methodology called Reliving Language childhood (RLC). Now waiting for patent in several countries. In July this year, Ahmad opened a pilot language center, called Dr English Centre, its investors include MBA alumni peers and ex-JP Morgan clients. RLC students are required to re-live their childhood experiences in a foreign language, not the mother tongue. Through special types of skills students acquire English skills sub-consciously as they acquire their mother tongue, without the stress of a traditional classroom. The skills are scripted and enacted in such a manner that the students comprehend entirely new words and phrases through contexts, props or gestures. The meaningful contexts, powerful imagery and Individual participation help students retain, and later recall newly learned language skills. My vision is to allow RLC to gain regional and then global acceptance in a franchise, Ahmad said I receive active form my MBA peers and Investors in many areas Including marketing and branding. Life as an entrepreneur is tough but I am determined to succeed. Ahmed Ayez Chase Manhattan Bank (1994-95), Standard Chartered Bank(1995-96) Dalwa Securities (1996-99) JP Morgan (1999-2002), Dr English Centre (2002-present)

Our Peers From the full-time Class 1993 The real MBA Pioneer As one of the first full-time MBA graduates, Mr Yorkie Wong, Associate Director for the Debt Finance Group at HSBC, felt being spoiled to have privileged access to the plentiful resources and facilities at HKUST, He took more courses than what was required to graduate and enjoyed interactive and friendly conversations with lecturers both inside and outside of the classrooms. He was also one of the first four MBA ambassadors sent to our overseas exchange partners.

As a mentor to HKUST undergraduate students, Yorkie believes that continuous learning is crucial to be successful and compets with his high-flying classmates. An MBA degree does not guarantee you a better job and pay, he said, The program broadens your view and thinking but does not necessary give you a quick return or answer, Taking an MBA is a long-term investment and I surely gained more than I paid in these past 10 years.

Yorkie Wong HSBC (2000-present)

And One had Retired If retirement means not needing to work and still have a good life, HEW Kwan Yee, a Malaysian Chinese who turns 40 later this year, is probably the first and the youngest retired alumus, He is now enjoying his postgraduate study in New Zealand with his family. Kwan Yee has held important positions in Taiwanese, German, Swiss and French companies in Taipei, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur in the past ten years, Later , he inherited a family business, and was able to convince other shareholders to buy all his shares a year ago, Cashed out and left his money with a private banker, he was able to make quite an impressive income in the past years.

Having earned his first and Masters degree in civil engineering in the United States, his HKUST MBA, and a very decent amount of cash, Kwan Yee did not pursue any more business opportunities instead his passion to study, hunger for knowledge and strong desire to venture into new fields brought him back to the campus again, He is now taking regular ACCA exams and postgraduate courses at the open Polytechnic New Zealand for a chartered accountant qualification Kwan Yee said it is still difficult to say if my retirement is final. If I ever work again, I may be working in Sydney or in Singapore.

KEW Kwan Yee Retired (2003-present)

Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a Gift-that’s why it is called Present. Babatunde Olatunji

Dear Classmates, Time flies, so enjoy every moment and make every second of our lives worthwhile Wasn’t that the thought most of us has when we enrolled in the inaugural HKUST MBA program in 1991 at what the general public called at the time Rolls-Royce University. Despite the name, our tuition fee was a real bargain which was just a fraction of what the program costs now. Nevertheless, it was still a big investment when we were all in the early stages of our career. Probably we all once wondered why we dragged ourselves to Clear Water Bay every Saturday when we could have spent it chasing our other halves which would have been a more important long-term investment I still remembered the first group meeting at the Parkview Hotel where we spent over 10 hours arguing about issues that, frankly, were non-issues. Sound familiar to all of you? Luckily the whole team shared the agony and we decided unanimously to adopt a cooperative sharing approach instead of negotiated consensus on future assignments. That worked very well and subsequent meetings became very efficient. We had learned our first lesson from MBA. We came to the program with different gives and takes. However, what was commonly found was the intimate bonding among classmates and our close relationship with faculty members. Remember the lunches in Sai Kung after the morning classed and the basketball games we squeezed in between afternoon classes? The friendship continued to flourish, and it has been and will be treasured for many more years to come. There were unnoticed love affairs too. Three couples “tied-the-knot’ after graduation. I wondered what had actually happened during all those late night assignment meetings which I missed tow of them were in my group but I did not have the slightest clue until I got the wedding invitation from them. I must have been too focused on the assignments while they were busy with something else Anyway congratulations to Mary and MK , Annie and Houghton, and Winne and Allan. You are fine examples that our class had been productive in not only delivering assignments. I am really proud of you. It has been more than a decade since we first met and we have all gone through good and bad times in career changes and personal development, from single party-goers to parents with kids. At times, we complain about the receding hairlines and the fat around our waist, yet I am happy with my life now because I know that I will always have my family and my friends around me. I am sure there will be even more exciting stories to share about our children in another 10 years In closing, I wish you all the vest and I hope all of you share my happiness. See you all at our 10th graduation anniversary reunion dinner. Edmund Ho Dharmala Securities (1994-96) Jardine Fleming /JP Morgan Chase (1996-2004) Citigroup Global Market Asia Limited (2004-present)

Suren Mansinghka One of the most respected and admired faculty members A PhD from UCLA and a faculty member with 20 years of teaching experience with the business schools at UC Riverside and San Francisco State University, Prof. Suren Mansinghka first came to teach the first HKUST MBA class in 1991, and has been coming back intermittently for the past 13 years. He has not only contributed a lot to the curriculum’s development, but is also fondly remembered by MBA alumni. His passion for teaching has been confirmed and recognized by the University Teaching Excellence Award In 2001 and the Franklin Prize for Excellence in Teaching by the Business School in 2003. During the interview with phoenix, as Suren reminisced about past classroom scenes with the first MBA classes, he glowed with a series of appreciation and satisfaction.

Phoenix: What were the challenges when teaching the first MBA class of Hong Kong’s newly established business school? Prof. Mansinghka: First of all, I had very little expedience in Hong Kong’s financial markets, and I was teaching corporate finances to 60-70 part-time students who had working experience in the industry. I had to manage their expectations and delivered the course based on my academic background (which I almost entirely in this United States) in a manner which made the analytical materials review to them I always made it clear that finance is based on some very solid and interesting ideas It is important to find understand these ideas before applying them Furthermore my responsibility was not to give students the right manners but to guide them to arrive at the right rapprochement to solve problems. I reinforced the message that as managers they would almost always make decisions based on incomplete information, and therefore arriving at the right approach was more important than getting the right manner.

I was also responsible for creating an environment for productive learning and meaningful and for providing with much support a new university. When designing course requirements and assessment systems, I sought their understanding, not necessarily their agreement after I had explained my reasons for my decisions. I did my best and always took full responsibility for my actions, Today I still use the same teaching principle as I found them useful to students and me.

How would you describe the first graduating classes? Prof. Mansinghka: It was exciting and to teach such an interactive class. The students Hong Kong’s financial system, US financial markets

What do you remember most about the class? SC Lu, Edmund HO, Sama ntra Han, Monica Ko, and Jessica Wong from the part-time class Marine Cove Gins Teaching assistant Any wishes or messages for your students? New university High risk The aim of this journey is not to stay at the rest house, but to reach that stage beyond which there is nothing further to travel.

The Birth of The HKUST MBA The Year 2004 marks the 10th anniversary of the graduation of our inaugural MBA classes in 1993(full-time) and 1994 (part-time) Despite its short history, the HKUST MBA programs have achieved distinguished worldwide recognition. It is a time for celebration, reminiscence and reflection. How did the MBA program and the Business School itself come about to uncover the embryonic history of the school Phoenix talked to Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan, founding dean of the HKUST School of Business and Management (SBM) from 1993 to 2000 and currently Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University. Prof. Chan brought us back to scene 14 years ago to describe the birth of the HKUST MBA.

Phoenix: How did SBM come about? Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan: I was told that in the original plan of the University there wasn’t a business school. Fortunately, the Planning Committee eventually decided that providing management training and expertise would be essential to be transformation of Hong Kong into a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced society. And it gave SBM the mandate to become a leading business school in Asia within ten years.

Phoenix: How did SBM get started? Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan: The founders of and advisors to HKUST were distinguished scholars in science and engineering. As far as I know, no business academic was involved in the initial planning of the University and the Planning Committee was actively looking for help to establish the business school. By a stroke of genius, our founding president, Prof, Chia-Wei Woo, somehow was able to get the Anderson School of Management of UCLA to be our start-up partner. I don’t know how he put the deal together, but it had a major boosting effect for the school to be. It set the initial tone and high standard for the school. And I Suspect some MBA students in our inaugural class might have been attracted to HKUST vecause fo the UCLA connection as we ahd almost no faculty nor a campus to speak of in the early days. With the partnership, Prof. Clay LaForce, then Dean of the Anderson School became our Acting Dean, and Dr. Ernest Scalberg, an associate Dean of Anderson School, became the Pro-Dean of our School. All this happened over the summer of 1990.

Phoenix: How did you get involved? Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan: It was really fortuitous, I was then a professor of at the University of Southern California (USC) and knew nothing about the new university. But Prof. Nai-fu Chen, a finance professor at UC Irvine and a food friend of mine. Somehow got involved perhaps through his UCLA connection (he got one of his PhDs from UCLA) We together with Prof. Sheridan Titman of the Anderson School and an accounting professor from UBC. Dubbeld the “Gang of Four” were invited to visit HKUST in October 1990 To explore the exciting opportunities of building a world-class business school from scratch, I still remember vividly our visit to the campus which was under construction then, with scaffoldings everywhere. The view was gorgeous, however, we walked up and down the stairs and through the corridors and imagined how nice the offices could be, it might not be love at first sight but it came close. Phoenix: How did you prepare for the program launch? Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan: I was very fortunate to be able to obtain a one and half years leave from USC to return to Hong Kong and help build the University. I signed up as Professor and Deputy Head of the Finance and Economics departments soon after I returned to Las Angeles from the October trip. I rally didn’t know what I was walking into. But the excitement was unmistakable. We (Pro-Dean Emie, Nai-fu, Sheridan, and other UCLA professors) had to race against time to finalize the curriculum and recruit faculty and students for the opening of the University in October 1991. We held four information forums to recruit prospective students in late January 1991. For the first MBA classes (full-time and part-time) I flew back to Hong Kong To interview some short-listed applicants over a weekend in May 1991 and had to rush back to USC for classes immediately after the interviews (strictly speaking, those were really not interviews but sessions ofr us to sell our visions of the new school ) to this day, I still get a big kick when some alumni reminded me that we had met at the interviews. I felt the mission of the interviews was achieved.

Phoenix: Any memorable challenges? Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan, I have to say that faculty recruitment was the most difficult and time-consuming part of building a new school. We were fortunate that the faculty market in the early 1990s was somewhat favorable for our school as the US schools were not hiring as much. And we took opportunity to build our faulty. Between 1991 and 1996 we must have recruited , on average, 35 to 40 faculty members a year and set a record thereof. I thought this was probably the most important breakthrough for our school in the development. We assembled a truly outstanding faculty with strong international reputation and the rest as we like to say is history. Phoenix: Some final remarks? Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan: Yee to all MBA alumni: I hope you have enjoyed and remember fondly your years of study at the School. I also hope that whenever situation permits, you could find time to participate in the School’s activities, offer your advice, and help make the HKUST Business School even stronger.

Phoenix HKUST MBA Alumni Newsletter Special Edition: 10th Graduation Anniversary, MBA Class of 1994 Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief Kitty Chong (PT03) Associate Editor William Chiu (PT_Year 2) Art Director: Andrew Lam (BBA 04) Karen Chu (BBA_Year3) Production Support: Connie Wong, Kee Wong (MBA Alumni Development office) Acknowledgement Interview Guests: Prof. Yuk-Shee Chan, Prof. Suren Manshinghka Story Contributors: Ahmand Ayaz, Andy Yuen, Derek Chan, Edmund Lo, Fung Wai Chung, Hew Kwan Yee, Jessica Wong, Josie wong, S C Liu, Yorkie Wong Published by HKUST Publishing Technology Centre November, 2004