Prof. Raymond Baker

Managing Director, One World International Group Ltd

Ray has a deep interest in corporate governance, as both an academic and practitioner. He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, in their assurance practice, and then moved on from the firm to advise over one hundred organizations on governance, accounting or internal control related matters. His clients have included a range of organizations operating in the United States, China and Europe, with a more recent focus on Sarbanes Oxley advisory services for public companies listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX and OTC capital markets.

In addition to his work as a practitioner, Ray has done in depth academic research in the area of corporate governance and internal controls, as well as university lecturing on auditing and accounting. He has an MBA and PhD in Accounting, from the University of Hong Kong, along with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting, from The Pennsylvania State University. Ray is also an actively licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Prof. Steven DeKrey

Senior Advisor to the Dean and Adjunct Professor of Management , The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 

Prof Steven J. DeKrey is Senior Advisor to the Dean and Adjunct Professor of Management at HKUST where he teaches leadership and corporate governance. He is the founding director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA Program and continues to oversee this 10 times world #1 ranked program. Under his past leadership, the MBA program of HKUST was twice ranked in the top 10 in the world by the Financial Times. His role also includes an assignment heading the HKUST-Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO Partnership where he is a member of the SKOLKOVO Academic Council and advisor to the management and past interim Dean. He has published several cases, three with Harvard Case Publishing collection.

Steve earned his PhD at the University of Iowa and his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School. Past positions include President of the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, Senior Advisor to the President at HKUST, Senior Associate Dean and Director of Masters Programs at HKUST, Director of MBA Programs at the University of Florida and Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg school where he directed the admissions office. Steve consulted with Chulalongkorn’s Sasin business school in Thailand for 5 years when a start-up. He served as a school and sports Psychologist for 5 years before joining Kellogg in 1982.

Elaine J. Cheung

Purpose-Driven Global C-Suit & Independent Board Director
Audit Committee Chair for Public & Private Companies

Elaine is a seasoned global business executive with over 30 years of experience as CFO and Independent Board Director.

With a career spanning healthcare, consumer goods, aquaculture, food-tech, education, and supply chain management, she has successfully led purpose-led, financially sustainable, and outcome-focused businesses. In her executive roles, Elaine has driven transformative changes across MNCs, start-ups, and family businesses, with notable brands including Dole, Temasek, VF (The North Face, Timberland, Vans, Lee, Wrangler), and Zuellig Pharma.

For more than 10 years, Elaine has served on boards across public, private, and non-profit organizations with truly global operations. She currently manages a portfolio career encompassing board and advisory roles with Novotech Health, XCL Education, International Baccalaureate, EastWest Seed B.V., and WWF International. Her prior board experience includes the UN World Food Programme (2020 Nobel Peace Laureate), Pacific Legends Group (HK:8547), Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals, ADB nominee director at Mountain Hazelnut Group, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

As a respected Audit Committee Chair, she provides governance oversight, strategic stewardship, and financial discipline to global organizations.

Elaine strongly believes in harnessing individual actions as a catalyst for global change. Passionate about mentoring and leadership development, Elaine is known for her infectious energy and ability to curate meaningful connections.

Mitya New

Leading Organisations, CEO
Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Associate Professor

Mitya is a passionate and leading global business educator with an impressive track record in leadership and performance transformation in global companies. He is faculty at a range of leading business schools in Asia and Europe. After over 15 years in CEO roles in both Asia and Europe Mitya founded Leading Organisations™ to leverage his global leadership experience and develop individual and team performance in companies. 

Mitya has extensive experience working with senior leadership and teams at multinational companies including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Pictet et Cie, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas AM, Nomura, Zurich Insurance, AEGON, Jardines, Baker McKenzie, Philip Morris International, Deloitte, EY, Royal Sun Alliance, China Mobile, China Commercial Bank, Hana Financial, OSM Group, Saudi Aramco, Lenovo, Target Australia, Lane Crawford, Cooley, Skadden, Iron Mountain, Dyson and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

Mitya is an Associate Professor at the Business School of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He delivers courses and programmes on leadership, high performance teams, strategy and business ethics. Mitya is also a professor in Mumbai at the Asia Centre of SDA Bocconi, Italy’s leading business school, where he designs and delivers core executive masters’` courses and executive education programmes. In 2020 Mitya joined the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management as professor in the EMBA programme.

Shai Ganu

Managing Director; Global Leader, Executive Compensation & Board Advisory at WTW 
Global Governing Board Member, World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative
Fellow and Governing Council Member, Singapore Institute of Directors

Shai Ganu is passionate about corporate stewardship, embedding sustainability priorities, building better boards, combating climate crisis, and driving business transformations through effective incentives and organization development efforts. 

Shai is the Global Leader for WTW’s Executive Compensation & Board Advisory business. He leads a team of over 450 exceptional consultants, across 45 countries, who are trusted advisors to clients on issues related to board and executive compensation, performance management and incentives, board effectiveness, organisation design, culture transformation, and human-capital governance.  

Based in Singapore, Shai has extensive experience working closely with the Boards and management teams of some of the largest companies in Asia Pacific and globally. He is a trusted advisor to more than a hundred Boards, Remuneration Committees, Nomination Committees, and Sustainability Committees. 

Shai is a member of the Governing Board of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and chairs its ESG Committee. He is faculty member at NED associations in the region – and teaches courses related on Remuneration, Nomination, Talent Management, and ESG matters.  

He is a Senior Accredited Director and serves on the boards of leading companies and not-for-profits in the region and chairs the Compensation, Nominations, and Sustainability committees. He is a member of the Global Governing Board of Climate Governance Initiative (CGI), and the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Climate Governance Global Community of Experts. 

Ms. Sala Sihombing

Mediator, Conflict Change Consulting

Sala works full-time as a mediator focusing on families in Hong Kong. She is an accredited mediator (Australia NMAS) (USA FINRA) (Hong Kong HKMAAL/HKIAC) (UK CEDR). Since 2013, she has taught as an adjunct lecturer at HKU in the LLM ADR Programme (Financial Dispute Resolution / Family Mediation). Having originally qualified as a solicitor in the UK (1995); she returned to Hong Kong, qualified as a solicitor (1996) and worked as a criminal and civil litigator. In 1997, she left private practice to work as in-house counsel at Peregrine Management Limited in the Treasury Department.

Sala spent spent two years as in-house counsel at Credit Agricole Indosuez providing legal support to varied business lines. Sala moved to Morgan Stanley in 2000 to run the Asian Equity Documentation Group for the Institutional Equity Division. In 2004, as an Executive Director she left the group to manage Asian Product Development for equity derivatives and then exclusively for DSP. In 2011, Sala resigned and attended the Straus Institute (Pepperdine University, USA) to receive her LLM in Dispute Resolution. Her LLB is from the University of Bristol, UK. Publications.

Alvin Chiang

Corporate Governance Advocate and Board Advisor

Alvin partners closely with chairs and directors to enhance board performance. Having worked on a variety of assignments internationally across the US, Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific, he brings along a deep understanding of the governance and leadership challenges boards face today from a global perspective. In addition, his past experience supporting board-level investigations and advising on family governance has given him a heightened appreciation of the complexities that underpin the responsibilities directors undertake.

Leveraging that knowledge and expertise, much of Alvin’s work revolves around board effectiveness and director development. His interest in the subject matter has seen him contribute actively to the Singapore Institute of Directors, where he serves as a member of the SID Advocacy and Research Committee and as Teaching Faculty for the SID Listed Entity Programme. Alvin was also one of the principal authors behind the Institute’s guidebook on Corporate Governance for Boards, and beyond that he has also supported studies on board practices across the region.

Beyond the technical aspects of governance, Alvin is deeply interested in the behavioral intricacies that influence boardroom decision-making. He conducts director training programs and guest lectures on board effectiveness and director dynamics at business schools such as the Singapore Management University (including serving as Adjunct Faculty on Executive Diploma in Directorship 2021-2022) and INSEAD (role and dates). He is a regular speaker with the Financial Times Board Director Programme on Boardroom Effectiveness. 

Alvin holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (First Class Honors) from Imperial College London, and an MSc in Risk Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He serves as a Commissioned Officer (Army Reserve) in the Singapore Armed Forces.