3 February 2017
On 18 February 2017, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School's Global Business Programs (Global Business Studies [GBS/GLOBE] and International Business and Chinese Enterprise [IBCE]) held the Global Business Forum 2017 to provide a remarkable platform for GLOBE and IBCE students/alumni from Hong Kong, Denmark and the United States to meet, learn and be inspired by prominent industry leaders and successful young entrepreneurs.
With the theme of "Transforming Global Challenges into Opportunities", the Forum was attended by over 140 guests. They included current students from GLOBE/IBCE and the School's other undergraduate programs, alumni, faculty members, prospective students and prominent speakers, namely Chin Chin-Tang, Director of Marketing and Operations Group at Microsoft Hong Kong; Sebastian Paredes, Chief Executive Officer of DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited; Gordon Orr, Non-Executive Director of Lenovo, Swire Pacific and BioProducts Laboratories and former Chairman of McKinsey & Company Asia; James Mirfin, Managing Director for North Asia at Thomson Reuters; James Root, Partner of Bain & Company; Carmen Mak, Relationship Manager of LinkedIn; Aaron Starks, Director of International Education at FranklinCovey, as well as three young entrepreneurs who shared their inspiring startup experiences including: Jacky Chan, Co-Founder of Tailor-M; Stephan Lai, Co-Founder of uFinance; and Peann Tam, a CUHK alumna and Co-Founder of Eco-Greenergy.
Dr. John Lai, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and Director of Global Business Programs at CUHK Business School, said: "I am excited to see that the Global Business Forum has become one of the signature events in my programs. My heartfelt thanks to all my colleagues in the program team, working committees, team captains from GBS/GLOBE and IBCE who have worked passionately to make this forum another great event. My sincere thanks also go to all our distinguished guest speakers in enlightening global talents."
Commenting on the event theme, Dr. Lai referenced to a quote by former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston S. Churchill - "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" - in challenging students to develop capability of transforming challenges into opportunities amidst constant barrage of competitions, speedy technological changes and uncertainties in the business environment.
