TWF's flagship 30% Club Boardroom Lunch brings accomplished and aspiring Women to Watch face-to-face with Board Directors and C-suite members from leading local and international companies, and their advisors for simulated boardroom discussions on key issues facing boards today. This flagship event aims to break down some of the closed circle networks which are often used to fill board appointments, and provide an opportunity for women to showcase their expertise and credentials for board positions in front of senior company representatives. 

Each participating company hosts a table at which 4 of their directors, senior executives and/or advisors are present. The remaining 6 seats are allocated by TWF and 30% Club to 5 accomplished Women to Watch and executive search firm representative or 30% Club VIP. Over lunch, in a simulation of boardroom discussions, guests engage in a structured exchange of views on some of the key issues facing boards today.

We are delighted with the line-up of corporate partners who are hosting tables this year. They include our Lead Sponsor, Standard Chartered, our Contributing Sponsors, Goldman Sachs and KPMG, as well as CIBC, Citi, Freshfields, Herbert Smith Freehills, HKEX, HSBC, Hysan, Link, Linklaters, Macquarie, Manulife, Melco, Paul Weiss, PCCW, Slaughter and May, Sovereign Group, Swire. This year, we were also joined by Executive Search Firm Partners, Egon Zenhder, Hedrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry, Meraki, Russel Reynolds and Spencer Stuart - who all had the opportunity to connect with this year’s dynamic Women to Watch!

We are pleased to announce our brand new Boardroom Series for Women Leaders which includes our flagship annual 30% Club Boardroom Lunch. The series is composed of educational workshops and networking events with key Board Directors, Executive Search firms and peers. It offers a more sustained and results-focused programme to help us achieve our collective goal of increasing the number of women on boards.

Our launch of this initiative starts with the "Roundtable Breakfast: From the C-Suite to the Board" which aims to link board-ready and board-aspiring Women to Watch with Executive Search Firms and to have an open dialogue regarding challenges and diversity in HK boardrooms. There will be a panel discussion with Nick Allen (Chairman of Link REIT) focusing on what boards and chairs are looking for in potential board candidates.
 
Often the challenges involved in the shift from the C-Suite to the Board involves the use of different skills, which we'll highlight in this session. We will dive into where and what to focus on when building board portfolios and how to position yourself to stand out. The groups will break into roundtables led by senior representatives from the search firms to discuss these challenges.

Although businesses are increasingly recognizing the benefits of diversity and inclusion, the number of women on Asian boards has barely moved the needle in recent years. Yet, companies in the West have made great leaps forward to change the status quo. Why is that? We need to ask ourselves:

• Can Asia achieve diversity at board level? What are the opportunities and challenges
• What lessons can we learn from outside of Asia?
• How can we make a difference?
• How can you, as a senior leader in Asia, stand out from the crowd to be appointed to boards both at home and abroad?

Heidrick & Struggles and the 30% club are delighted to invite you to this compelling panel discussion featuring one of the most influential board search consultants in the industry, Bonnie Gwin (Vice Chairman and Co-Managing Partner of the Global CEO & Board Practice of Heidrick & Struggles), as well as Fern Ngai (CEO of Community Business), Fiona Nott (CEO of The Women’s Foundation) and May Tan (Former CEO of Standard Chartered and INED of Link Asset Management). The event will be moderated by Kyoko Altman, Director of HSBC Global Banking and Markets and ex-CNN anchor.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors, the 30% Club and The Women’s Foundation are delighted to host an exclusive breakfast with Elizabeth Proust, AO FAICD, Chairman, Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms. Proust will discuss: 

• The issues of diversity, trust, culture and board composition.
• Innovation and digital transformation, artificial intelligence and cyber, and how these areas need to be considered by directors when looking toward the future.

About the Speaker

Elizabeth joined the AICD board in March 2014 and was appointed Chairman in
December 2015. She sits on a number of boards, including as Chairman of Nestlé Australia and the Bank of Melbourne. Elizabeth is a Non-Executive Director of Lendlease, a leading international property and infrastructure group, and a member of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Directors’ Advisory Panel and the Victoria Police Corporate Advisory Group. In 2010 Elizabeth was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to public administration and to business, through leadership roles in government and private enterprise, as a mentor to women, and to the community through contributions to arts, charitable and educational bodies.

Previously Elizabeth worked in senior roles at the ANZ Banking Group, in local, State and Federal Government, and in BP Australia and BP International. She has held senior positions in the Victorian Government, including as Secretary (CEO) of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department. She was also CEO of the City of Melbourne.

Recognising that many boards still largely rely on their own networks to fill board openings, the flagship 30% Club Boardroom Lunch brings accomplished and aspiring women directors face-to-face with board and C-suite members from leading local and international companies and their advisors, for simulated boardroom discussions on key issues facing boards today. This flagship event aims to break down some of the closed circle networks which are often used to fill board appointments, and provide an opportunity for women to showcase their expertise and credentials for board positions in front of senior company representatives.

Each participating company typically hosts a table at which four of their directors, senior executives and/or advisors are present. The remaining six seats are allocated to five accomplished and aspiring women directors and one facilitator. Over lunch, in a simulation of boardroom discussions, guests engage in a structured exchange of views on some of the key issues facing boards today, including risk management, executive compensation, succession planning and social media strategy.

We are delighted with the early line-up of corporate partners who are hosting tables this year. They include our Title Sponsors, KPMG and Standard Chartered, our Associate Sponsor, Paul Weiss, as well as CIBC, HKEX, Macquarie, Slaughter and May, Sovereign Group, Swire, Thomson Reuters, and Yu Ming Investment Management. We look forward to connecting them with this year’s dynamic Women to Watch!

The 30% Club Hong Kong and CIBC are delighted to host a breakfast talk featuring special guest Victor G. Dodig, President and Chief Executive Officer of CIBC and Chair of the 30% Club Canada.

Mr Dodig will discuss:

• His experiences as Chair and the achievements of the 30% Club Canada
• CIBC's gender initiatives and the importance of men as diversity champions
• His life story and why ensuring women have equal access to opportunities is such an important cause for him personally

About the Speaker

Victor Dodig was named President and CEO of the CIBC group of companies, one of North America's largest financial services institutions, in September 2014. Under his tenure, Mr Dodig has helped usher in a new era for the bank, positioning CIBC as a strong, innovative, and relationship-oriented financial institution with a Return on Equity among the highest of its peers globally. Mr Dodig brings more than 20 years of extensive business and banking experience, having led CIBC's Wealth Management, Asset Management and Retail Banking businesses. He also led several businesses with UBS and Merrill Lynch in Canada and internationally, and was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.

A member of CIBC's Board of Directors, Mr Dodig also serves on the board of the C.D. Howe Institute and ROM Board of Governors. He is a vocal advocate for gender diversity in the workplace, and actively supports the advancement of talented women to executive roles and on boards as founding Chair of the 30% Club Canada and as a Catalyst Canada Advisory Board member.

A past recipient of Canada's Top 40 Under 40™ award, Mr Dodig is a graduate of the Harvard Business School where he earned an MBA and was recognized as a Baker scholar. He holds a Diploma from the Institut d'études politiques in Paris and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto (St. Michael's College) in Commerce. Mr Dodig resides in Toronto with his wife Maureen and their four teenage children.

TWF's flagship 30% Club Annual Boardroom Lunch, brings accomplished and aspiring women directors face to face with board and C-suite members from leading local and international companies and their advisors, for simulated boardroom discussions on key issues facing boards today. This flagship event aims to break down some of the closed circle networks which are often used to fill board appointments, and provide an opportunity for women to showcase their expertise and credentials for board positions in front of senior company representatives.

Each participating company typically hosts a table at which four of their directors, senior executives and/or advisors are present. The remaining six seats are allocated to five accomplished and aspiring women directors and one facilitator. Over lunch, in a simulation of boardroom discussions, guests engage in a structured exchange of views on some of the key issues facing boards today, including risk management, executive compensation, succession planning and social media strategy.

We are delighted with the line-up of corporate partners who are hosting tables this year. They include Alibaba, AIA, Citi, BlackRock, Deacons, Goldman Sachs, HSF, HKEX, Hogan Lovells, HSBC, Li & Fung, Macquarie, MTR, PCCW, Sino Group, Slaughter and May, Swire, and Thomson Reuters, alongside event sponsors Standard Chartered and KPMG. We look forward to connecting them with this year’s dynamic Women to Watch!

Title Sponsors

The 30% Club Hong Kong is delighted to present a special lunch with Henry Kravis, Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of KKR.

Mr Kravis will speak about:

• Lessons learned as KKR celebrates its 40th anniversary and 10th year in Asia
• The global investing environment and today's challenges and opportunities
• How diversity and inclusion need to be considered by business

About the Speaker

Henry Kravis is the Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of KKR, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. He is actively involved in managing the Firm and serves on regional Private Equity Investement and Portfolio Management Committees. Mr Kravis has more than four decades of experience financing, analysing and investing in public and private companies, as well as serving on the boards of a number of KKR portfolio companies.

Recognising that many boards still largely rely on their own networks to fill board openings, the lunch brought our extensive and growing pool of accomplished and aspiring women directors face to face with chairmen, board members and senior management from Hong Kong's leading companies and their key advisors. In a simulation of boardroom discussions, guests engaged over lunch in a structured exchange of views on some of the key issues facing boards today including succession planning, social media strategy and risk management.