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 and Premises, 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 2019/2020

Godwin Hwa

Chair

Mr. Godwin Hwa is currently the Senior Advisor to a listed major apparel company in the People’s Republic of China. A Canadian citizen from Montreal, he 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 is the Chairperson of the Governance and Ad Hoc Strategic Committees.
Cora Chan

Vice Chair

Ms. Chan is a parent at CDNIS and has two children in the Lower School. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, is a LLB graduate from the University of London and a candidate for MA in Educational Counselling from the Hong Kong Institute of Education. 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 sits on the Development, F&A, and Ad Hoc Strategic Committees.
Isabella Ho

Vice Chair

Ms. Isabella Ho has been a parent at CDNIS for seven years and has two children in the Lower School. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree 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.

Ms. Ho held various positions on the CISPA Board from 2012 to 2015. She has served as the CISPA Treasurer and Chair of the Literacy Committee. Ms Ho is on the F&A, Governance and Ad Hoc Strategic Committees. Currently, Ms. Ho chairs the Parent Liaison Committee.
Brian Lau

Vice Chair

Mr. Lau is a senior director at a Hong Kong firm in the private equity industry. Prior to this he worked in investment banking, and spent over 20 years in the tech industry. He is a C.P.A. (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada) and hold a Bachelor's degree from the University of Waterloo, and an MBA degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Mr. Lau is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, and a Director on the Canadian Rugby Hong Kong Sevens Fund. Mr. Lau chairs the Development Committee and was also the Co-Chair for CDNIS' Inaugural Annual Fund Campaign. He is also a member of the F&A, Ad Hoc Strategic and Governance Committees.
Paul Chong

Governor

Mr. Chong is a Founding Director of The Southa Group which provides electrical and mechanical engineering services. He attended the University of Hong Kong where he obtained his degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Mr. Chong is actively involved with various organizations in Hong Kong. He is currently the President of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors, chairs the Construction Workers Registration Board and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Training Committee of the VTC, and serves as a council member of the Construction Industry Council, the Open University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Green Building Council. Mr. Chong chairs the F&A Committee and sits on the Governance Committee.
James Kwan

Governor

Mr. Kwan is an independent non-executive Director of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corp (MTRC). An engineer by profession, Mr. Kwan served Hong Kong and China Gas (HKCG) for over 30 years before retiring as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, HKCG was transformed into a user and social friendly utility company in Hong Kong widely complimented by the public.

Mr. Kwan is a non-executive Director of Towngas China Co Ltd. and has also served as President of both the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers and the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers in UK. Mr. Kwan is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and holds a Bachelor degree in Science in Engineering. He also holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mr. Kwan is a member of the Premises Committee.
Philip Lam

Governor

Mr. Lam served as the Director of Finance of 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 2 years until June 30, 2014, and is now an Honorary Advisor to the Chairman of the HKU Foundation. Since mid-August 2012, he has served as an Executive Director of Chinney Alliance Group Limited.

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. Mr. Lam is on the F&A Committee.
Sunny Lee

Governor

Mr. Lee is responsible for a portfolio of central administration functions in his role as Vice President (Administration) at City University of Hong Kong. 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.

Mr. Lee has over 30 years of experience in business and technology management in Hong Kong and abroad. 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. Previously, he was Vice President and Systems Director of Bank of America in Hong Kong, where he was instrumental in building up the bank’s IT capabilities to support its Asian expansion. Mr. Lee has also held key IT positions in the financial, management consulting and manufacturing industries in the US. Mr. Lee sits on the F&A Committee.
John Lindfors

Governor

Mr. Lindfors is the Managing Partner at DST Investment Management Ltd., 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 of Science degree in Financial Economics.

Mr. Lindfors is active in serving the community. He has been on the Board of Governors since 2015 and is a member of the Audit Committee. Mr. Lindfors and his wife have two children enrolled at CDNIS.
Tamiko Lippit

Governor

Ms. Lippit has been a parent at CDNIS for eight years and has two children in the Lower School. She holds an AB magna cum laude in History and Literature from Harvard College and a JD from Columbia University School of Law and has worked as an Attorney, advising many first generation Silicon Valley start-up companies.

Ms. Lippit has volunteered her time across a spectrum of areas at CDNIS, from giving her time as a class parent to being one of two parent members on the eight-member CDNIS School Governance Task Force. She is a supporter of the School’s Annual Fund campaign and is the lead organizer of the CDNIS Global Citizenship Lecture Series, which has brought internationally acclaimed speakers to CDNIS. She is also a member of the Parent Liaison, Development and Ad Hoc Strategic Committees. Outside of CDNIS, she dedicates her time to other educational non-profits, including as chair of Room to Read's Asia Pacific Board, and as a board member of Teach for China.
Brandon Liu

Governor

Mr. 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 is also on the Finance and Administration Committee at CDNIS. His dedication to public service earned him Justice of Peace in 2002.
Pauline Leung

Ms. Leung is a partner in PwC’s Capital Market Services Group. She has more than 20 years of experience in providing assurance and business advisory services, with more than 10 years as a partner.

Throughout her years with PwC, Pauline 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 retail, manufacturing, trading, and energy and mining.

Pauline 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.
Jeffrey Ng

Governor

Mr. Ng is currently Asia Editor of Dow Jones Newswires, the real-time news service of The Wall Street Journal. He has been a journalist with Dow Jones and the Journal for 11 years, since graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in international relations.

Mr. Ng is a CDNIS alumnus, having graduated as class valedictorian in 2000. He was founding president of the Student Council. 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.

He is actively involved with CDNIS. He co-founded the CDNIS Alumni Association in 2003 and has held various executive roles, including President. He serves on various committees including Finance and Administration, Parent Liaison and Premises Committee. Mr. Ng enjoys spending time with his wife, Catherine, and their two children.
Evan Thorpe

Governor

Mr. Thorpe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University.

He has been very active in serving at CDNIS, even prior to graduating in 2000. He was a founding member of the first CDNIS 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. For the past five years, he has played a key role in the development of the CDNIS Alumni Association having served as General Secretary.

He served on the Scholarship Selection Task Force, Development Committee and was an Annual Fund Advocate. Currently, he chairs the Premises Committee and sits on the Audit and Development Committees. Mr. Thorpe and his wife, also a Princeton graduate, have two young children whom they hope will attend CDNIS in the future.
Carrie Willis

Governor

Mrs. Willis is a well-respected public administrator who boasts a wealth of experience having served in various Government bureaus and departments, as well as public bodies in Hong Kong. She was the Executive Director of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) before her retirement in 2013.

Mrs. Willis currently serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Professional Development of Teachers and Principals; member of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, Education Commission, Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, Advisory Council on the Environment, Committee on Self-financing Post-Secondary Education, Youth Education, Employment and Training Task Force of the Commission on Poverty. She is also is a Justice of the Peace and was awarded an SBS in 2009 and an MBE in 1996. Ms. Willis is on the Ad Hoc Strategic Committee.
Kwan-In Li

Governor (Representing Members)

Mr. Kwan-In Li was one of the Founding Members of CDNIS in 1991, and had served on the Board in the early years of the school.

Born, raised and educated in Hong Kong, Mr. Li obtained his Commerce Degree from Concordia University. He immigrated to Canada in 1982 where he qualified as a chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC. He returned to Hong Kong where he became a fellow member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 2000.

Mr. Li has worked with international accounting firms for over 10 years and was admitted as a partner of Ernst & Young in Canada in 1991. He left public accounting in 1993, holding senior financial positions with garment manufacturing groups in Hong Kong since. He is currently a director of a private company with a joint venture printing factory in the People's Republic of China. Mr. Li and his wife have a son and a daughter. Mr. Li is a member of the F&A and Governance Committees.