Governance

As a private and independent school, Canadian International School of Hong Kong is governed by a Board of Governors whose activities are prescribed by Hong Kong law and good practice guidelines set by NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools). Board members volunteer their time, are not compensated, and do not receive any financial benefit from the School.

Fiduciary responsibility rests with the Board of Governors as they are responsible for the overall stewardship of the School, including establishing the School’s direction and priorities and overseeing its financial and administrative functions. The Board of Governors works closely with the Head of School to ensure the overall success of the School. The day-to-day running of the school is the responsibility of the Head of School and the Senior Administration Team.

The Board is comprised of 16 elected Governors from various community stakeholder groups including alumni and current parents. Board members are selected based on their capability to dedicate time and energy to the school, their representation of school and community stakeholders, and the match between their skills and resources and those needed for effective governance of the School, including expertise in education, facilities development, finance, fundraising, human resources, information technology and law. The Board meets during the school year and holds special meetings as required. In addition to the standing committees of Admissions & Scholarship, Audit, Development, Finance & Administration, Governance, Parent Liaison, Premises, Strategic and ad hoc committees form at the Board’s discretion.

As guiding principles, the Board has adopted the NAIS Principles of Good Practice for Boards and for Individual Trustees. These principles provide common views on the responsibilities of private independent school boards as well as those of the individual trustees.

Board of Governors 2021/2022

Godwin Hwa

Chair

Mr. Godwin Hwa is a Canadian citizen from Montreal and obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master in Engineering degrees from Cornell University. Before returning to Hong Kong, he received his MBA degree from McGill University where he majored in management science, finance and marketing. Mr. Hwa chairs the Governance Committee and sits on the Admissions & Scholarship and Ad-Hoc Strategic Committees.
Cora Chan

Vice Chair

Ms. Cora Chan is a parent at CDNIS and has three children in the Lower School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, is an LLB graduate from the University of London and a MA in Educational Counselling from the Education University of Hong Kong. Ms. Chan currently works as a Director at First Direct Group where she is engaged in property, equities and art investments. Ms. Chan was a member of the CDNIS Academic and Pastoral Committee during the 2014-2015 academic year. She also devotes her time to various other organizations in Hong Kong including UNICEF and McGill University. She also served as a volunteer during the Beijing Summer Olympics and was part of the Communications International Service, which worked with the Equestrian teams. Ms. Chan is fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and intermediate level French. She chairs the Parent Liaison and Ad-Hoc Strategic Committees, and sits on the Audit, Development, Finance & Administration, Governance and Premises Committees.
Isabella Ho

Vice Chair

Ms. Isabella Ho has been a parent at CDNIS for 12 years. She has two Upper School children at the school She holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). Ms. Ho worked at the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario for 11 years, where she was responsible for numerous financial and value for money audits. She chairs the Finance & Administration Committee and sits on the Admissions & Scholarship, Governance, Parent Liaison and Ad-Hoc Strategic Committees.
Brian Lau

Vice Chair

Mr. Brian Lau chairs the Development Committee and sits on the Admissions & Scholarship, Governance and Ad-Hoc Strategic Committees, and co-Chaired CDNIS' Inaugural Annual Fund Campaign.

Mr. Lau is a Partner in a Private Equity firm. He is a CPA (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada) and holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Waterloo, and an MBA Degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

In addition to supporting CDNIS, Mr. Lau's non-profit board work includes being a Director of the Canadian Rugby Hong Kong Sevens Fund, and previously a Vice Chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Malcolm Chan

Governor

Mr. Malcolm Chan is a Director of Standard Corporate Advisory Limited, a company principally engaged in the provision of corporate advisory, accounting, taxation, and company secretarial services. Previously, he was an Assistant Manager at Anglo Chinese Corporate Finance, where he was responsible for coordinating public market merger and acquisition, fundraising and IPO transactions and compliance related work. Prior to that, he was a Senior Accountant at Ernst & Young, specializing in the financial services sector.

Mr. Chan is an alumnus of CDNIS (Class of 2002). He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Washington State), and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, and a Juris Doctor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Mr. Chan sits on the Development, Finance & Administration and Parent Liaison Committees.
Paul Chong

Governor

Mr. Paul Chong is the founder of the "Southa" Group of Companies back in 1979 in Hong Kong, a major electrical and mechanical engineering contractor in the local market. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering and is an acclaimed leader in the industry. He has been very active in public service and sits/sat in various government and statutory bodies including Vocational Training Council, Construction Industry Council, Employees' Retraining Board, BEAM Society, Green Building Council, Construction Workers Registration Board, Zero Carbon Building, Open University of Hong Kong, E&M Services Training Board, Energy Advisory Board. He is also a Life President of the Hong Kong Federation of E&M Contractors. He has been awarded by the Hong Kong Government with a Medal of Honour (MH) and Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) for his contribution. Mr. Chong sits on the Governance Committee.
Philip Lam

Governor

Mr. Philip Lam served as the Director of Finance of the University of Hong Kong for over 20 years until his retirement on June 30, 2012. After retirement, he was appointed as a Senior Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor in financial, investment and fundraising matters for two years until June 30, 2014. He is currently an Executive Director of three public listed companies of the Chinney Group.

Mr. Lam is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is also an Associate Member of the Canadian Chartered Management Accountants, UK Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, and UK Chartered Institute of Bankers. He also served as a member of the Board of Review of the Inland Revenue Department for three years from 1995-1998 and was a member of the Establishment and Finance Committee of the Prince Philip Dental Hospital for 20 years.
Janet Lee

Governor

Ms. Janet Lee is a CDNIS alumna parent and has been with the school for over 14 years. She chairs the Admissions & Scholarship Committee and sits on the Development, Finance & Administration, and Parent Liaison Committees

Born, raised, and educated in Malaysia, Ms. Lee moved to Hong Kong in 1990 and began her career in the search industry with two leading, publicly listed Global Executive Search firms. Currently, she is the Managing Partner of a global executive search firm specializing in Management and C-Suite search across industry sectors and functional disciplines.

Outside of her work, Ms. Lee enjoys traveling and is an advocate and active volunteer for the education of underprivileged children.
Sunny Lee

Governor

Mr. Sunny Lee is responsible for a portfolio of business and administrative functions in his role as Vice President (Administration) at City University of Hong Kong. He is also Chairman of the Board of Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute.

Mr. Lee is a graduate of Cornell University where he studied for both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering. He has over 30 years of experience in business and technology management. He was Executive Director, IT for The Hong Kong Jockey Club and Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong and China Gas Limited, with overall responsibility for IT strategy and innovation. Mr. Lee has also held key IT positions in the financial, management consulting and manufacturing industries in Hong Kong and the US. Mr. Lee sits on the Finance & Administration Committee.
Pauline Leung

Governor

Ms. Pauline Leung is a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers’s (“PwC”) Capital Market Services Group. She has more than 30 years of experience in providing assurance and business advisory services, with more than 20 years as a partner.

Throughout her years with PwC, Ms. Leung has gained extensive experience in assisting companies with initial public offerings (“IPO”) and other capital market transactions. She has a wide client base in a variety of industries such as education, retail and consumer products, and energy and mining.

Ms. Leung graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong with a Bachelors (First Class Honours) in Business Administration. She is a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (“ACCA”) and was a council member of the Hong Kong branch of ACCA during 1998 to 2002. She sits on the Audit and Finance & Administration Committees.
John Lindfors

Governor

Mr. John Lindfors is the Managing Partner at DST Investment Management Limited, the Hong Kong based financial advisory company to the DST Global group of funds. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, Mr. Lindfors was a partner with Goldman Sachs International, leading the firm’s European Technology and Media Advisory groups. He holds a Master’s Degree of Science in Financial Economics.

Mr. Lindfors is active in serving the community. He has been on the Board of Governors since 2015 and sits on the Audit and Development Committees.

Mr. Lindfors and his wife have three children all of whom have attended CDNIS.
Brandon Liu

Governor

Mr. Brandon Liu is the Managing Director of Feoso Oil Limited and has been a Director since 1974. Mr. Liu founded the company and charted the strategic direction for over 40 years.

Mr. Liu was a Standing Committee Member on the Shanghai Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He is currently a Vice Chairman of The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.

His contributions to public service in Hong Kong are also wide and varied. He was the 23rd Chairman of Yan Oi Tong. He sits on the Boards of several universities, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ningbo University, and Hong Kong Baptist University. He also sits on the Finance & Administration Committee at CDNIS. His dedication to public service earned him Justice of Peace in 2002.
Jeffrey Ng

Governor

Mr. Jeffrey Ng is Senior Vice President at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, heading the media relations team in the Corporate Communications Division. Previously, he spent 13 years as a Reporter and Editor at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. He joined Dow Jones after graduating from Georgetown University with a Degree in International Relations While working full time, Mr. Ng earned a Juris Doctor Law Degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2012 and was awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 2014.

Mr. Ng is a CDNIS alumnus, having graduated as class valedictorian in 2000. He was the Founding President of Student Council and co-edited the Flash newsletter for two years. He is actively involved with CDNIS. He co-founded the CDNIS Alumni Association in 2003 and has held various executive roles, including President. He chairs the Audit Committee and sits on the Governance Committee. Mr. Ng enjoys spending time with his wife, Catherine, and their two children.
Evan Thorpe

Governor

Mr. Evan Thorpe is a graduate of CDNIS as a member of the class of 2000. During his time at CDNIS, he was a founding member of the first Student Council and was Student Council President in 1999. Upon graduation, Mr. Thorpe was a recipient of the Ontario Scholar Award and the Millennium History Award. He currently serves CDNIS as chair of the Premises Committee and sits on the Audit and Development Committees. He volunteers on the school's Jockey Club Scholarship selection panel and is a member of the CDNIS Alumni Association Executive Committee. Mr. Thorpe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and is currently a venture capital investor with SixThirty Ventures, a firm focusing on FinTech, InsurTech, Digital Health and Data Security. He and his wife, also a Princeton graduate, have two young children whom they hope will attend CDNIS in the future.
Carrie Willis

Governor

Mrs. Carrie Willis is a well-respected public administrator with a wealth of experience in various Government bureaus and departments, as well as public bodies in Hong Kong. he was the Executive Director of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) before her retirement. Mrs. Willis has a keen interest in education and youth development policies and served on numerous government boards and committees. She is currently a member of the Quality Assurance Council of the University Grants Committee and the Civil Service Training Advisory Board. She is a Justice of the Peace and was awarded an SBS in 2009 and an MBE in 1996. Mrs. Willis sits on the Ad-Hoc Strategic Committee.
Kwan-In Li

Governor (Representing Members)

Mr. Kwan-In Li was one of the 12 Members who founded CDNIS in 1991 and had served on the Board in its early years. He rejoined the Board as an ex-officio Governor representing the Members since 2013 and currently sits on the Admissions & Scholarship, Finance & Administration and Governance Committees. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mr. Li obtained his Commerce Degree in Montreal in 1979, qualified as a Chartered Accountant in Vancouver in 1985 and became a fellow member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 2000. Mr. Li has worked with international accounting firms (admitted as a partner of Ernst & Young Canada in 1991) and garment manufacturing and Printing groups in Hong Kong and is currently a director of a Hong Kong private company with a joint venture printing factory in China. Mr. Li and his wife have a daughter and a son.