The Hong Kong Management Association held its 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, 6 July 2017 at its Headquarters. Mr James Thompson GBS, Chairman of the Association reported that 2016 has been another remarkable year witnessing impressive achievements and good progress in all aspects of the work of the Association. "A number of major projects have been in full swing, strategized to promote management excellence, and to serve the unexplored niches of the business community," said Mr Thompson.

The Hong Kong Sustainability Award was one of the most exciting projects launched by the Association in 2016. Gathering a pool of business leaders and sustainability experts at the Organizing Committee, Board of Examiners, and Panel of Judges, the Award takes a holistic approach emphasizing the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainability and advocates cross-sector sharing of best practices. "I am proud to say that the 18 months and over 500 man-hours of preparation have paid off, as over a hundred organizations participated in the Award in its inaugural year," said Mr Thompson.

In 2016, the Association has launched a "Chance - New Perspective for Young People" scheme with the support of J P Morgan. The scheme aims to help youngsters with disadvantaged background to enhance their skills and knowledge in order for them to enter or re-enter the workforce and establish themselves in sustainable careers. In addition, the Association further extended its efforts among students of secondary schools and post-secondary institutions and launched a Youth Development Scheme aiming to widen their horizon and enhance their understanding of the development and career prospects of different industries through a series of company visits and various events of the Association.

Established in 2014, the Institute of Advanced Management Development (AMD) continued to introduce many top-notch international programmes to senior executives in Hong Kong through collaboration with first-class institutions including Cambridge Judge Business School; 丱ole des Ponts Business School, France; Fudan University; Georgetown University; The Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania; University of Mainz, Germany; and Yale University.

The establishment of an Institute of Healthcare Management (HCM) in November this year will be another important initiative of the Association. Under the leadership of its Advisory Board Chairman, Dr the Honourable Leong Che Hung, the HCM will provide professional and management programmes on dental nursing, healthcare management, psychological, emotional and community counseling, executives` health and elderly care and so on to train up more talents for the industry.

On the education and training side, the Association continued to expand its network by collaborating with new overseas partners including a series of specialized Master degree programmes with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in the UK; and the AIM Business School in Australia.

Mr Thompson continued to report that the successful launch of a new state-of-the-art Management Development Centre at South Seas Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui last year marked another important milestone of the Association. "I take pride in saying that this modern learning facility has not only brought a unique learning experience to our members and programme participants but also made us stand out from our competitors in this highly challenging management education market," he said.

To provide digital marketing specialists and enthusiasts with an effective platform to exchange ideas and further develop their knowledge of digital marketing, the Association has inaugurated a new specialist club, namely the Digital Marketing Community (DMC). The DMC has already held six well-attended events, attracting close to 700 executives within three months of its launch. Another new specialist club, namely Professional Managers` Club, which promotes a high standard of professionalism in management, will be launched later this year.

Mr Thompson paid tributes to the past Chairmen for their insightful direction in building a solid foundation for the continuous development of the Association; as well as to members of the Council, Sub-committees, Management Committees, Working Committees and Organizing Committees of the business Awards and major events, for their guidance and support, which has enabled the remarkable achievements of the Association throughout the year.

At the Annual General Meeting, nine elected or re-elected Council Members were as follows:

• Prof Viveca Chan, Chairman & CEO, WE Marketing Group
• Mr Helmuth Hennig, Group Managing Director, Jebsen & Co Ltd
• Mr Michael Lee JP, Director, Oxer Ltd
• Dr Albert Ma JP, Chairman & Managing Director, Hong Kong LP Gas (Holdings) Ltd
• Dr Y K Pang GBS JP, Deputy Managing Director, Jardine Matheson Limited
• Ms Edith Shih Sun, Executive Director, Head Group General Counsel & Company Secretary, CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd
• Mr Kent Wong, Managing Director, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd
• Mr Patrick Wu, Managing Director & Leader, Greater China, Duff & Phelps
• Dr Paul Young JP, Managing Director, Yuen Hing Hong & Co Ltd

At the Council Meeting held immediately after the Annual General Meeting, Mr James Thompson GBS, Chairman, Crown Worldwide Holdings Ltd was re-elected as Chairman. Mr Michael Lee JP, Director, Oxer Ltd and Mr Helmuth Hennig, Group Managing Director, Jebsen & Co Ltd were re-elected as Deputy Chairmen.

This year, there are three new Council Members. They are:

• Mr Guy Bradley, Chief Executive, Swire Properties Ltd
• Ir Ben Wong, Chief Operating Officer, Hong Kong Airlines Ltd
• Mr Jacky Chan, Regional Chief Executive, AIA Group

A "Meet the Chairman and Council" Networking Drink was held immediately after the Council Meeting at the Hong Kong Club. Fifty Council, Charter, Corporate and Full Members attended the event.

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Issued by The Hong Kong Management Association on 6 July 2017.