Board of Directors
The HKCBA Ottawa Section's board of directors manages the section implementation of the HKCBA National strategy, ensures effective governance, provides guidance on section programs as well as develops and maintains relationships with the local and business communities.
HKCBA Ottawa Section Board of Directors
President, Ottawa Section
Marvin Hough
Executive in Residence, Telfer Shool of Management
President, Marvin Hough International Research and Analysis (MIRA) Limited miraservices@live.ca
Marvin Hough is President of the HKCBA, Ottawa Chapter and is a member of the Board of the HKCBA National Committee. He is a regular visitor to Hong Kong and is passionate about facilitating closer business ties between Canada and Hong Kong and promoting the concept of “ Think Asia – Think Hong Kong “.
Mr. Hough draws on 30 years of experience with Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s official export credit agency. He retired from EDC in 2008 as Regional Vice-President, Asia and joined the Telfer School of Management shortly thereafter.
Mr. Hough’s tenure with EDC included positions in both EDC financing and insurance operations. On the Asian front, he managed EDC’s financing operations in both the South Asia and Pacific North Asia regions. He was instrumental as well in assisting EDC to establish its first representation in China and his experience also includes a four-year interchange assignment with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade where he served as a Senior Trade Commissioner in New Delhi, India.
Mr. Hough is currently an Executive – in – Residence at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. At Telfer, Mr. Hough is actively involved in the international business area and teaches courses in the Undergraduate and EMBA programs, and is a key participant in the annual EMBA international business consulting trip. He has also recently launched an executive training program related to anti-corruption best practices in emerging markets.
MIRA Limited provides international research and analysis services to Canadian companies and government departments focused on key strategic markets including India, China and Mexico.
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Mr. Hough received a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with Distinction) and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Alberta.
Director
James Nguyen
RBC
Ruby Williams is a senior manager in the Mergers & Acquisitions (“M&A”) practice at Deloitte and has over 15 years of experience providing auditing, accounting and financial advisory services working with a diverse range of clientele including the federal government, municipalities, high-tech, owner-managed enterprises, public and not-for-profit organizations. Ruby specializes in preparing valuations and financial advisory services for both private and public companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, succession planning, financial reporting, estate planning, corporate restructuring, IPO and litigation support.
In addition, Ruby was also involved in a number of Initial Public Offerings (IPO) and other private equity financings, providing valuation and transaction services. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) and a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder.
Ruby is also active in the community and currently sits on the board of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and the Dovercourt Recreation Association.
Honourary Life Director
Frank Ling, C.M., MCU (Harvard)
Consultant
Canada-Asia Pacific Development
Frank Ling was born in Hong Kong, rooted in a family influenced equally by ancient Chinese tradition and modern Western perspective. He survived the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, went on to receive his high school education by the Irish Jesuits in the then British Crown Colony and graduated as an architect at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, England in the early 1960's. Following his immigration to Canada in 1967, he received his Master of City Planning in Urban Design degree at Harvard in 1972.
He has travelled extensively and acquired his international business experience and contacts while living and working in Hong Kong, S.E. Asia, Europe and United States. After his retirement from his successful architectural practice in Ottawa in 1989, he has dedicated his time and energy as a community "Bridge Builder".
Frank Ling's commitment and contributions to his adopted country have earned him the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and membership in the Order of Canada.
Director & Treasurer
Dwayne Dulmage
Vice-President of Financing and Consulting,
Business Development Bank of Canada
A graduate of the University of Windsor (BA Arts) and Carleton University (Masters Public Administration), I have spent 20 years in banking with both RBC and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Having held various leadership roles during my 9 years at RBC in retail banking, head office and commercial banking, I had the opportunity to gain valuable experience into the many facets of leadership, including sales and HR management, strategic planning and collaboration and team-building. These skills have served me well in my transition to the BDC as a leader in several roles including Business Centre Manager - Kingston, and the past 4 years as Vice President – Eastern & Northern Ontario. In my role at the BDC, I take great pride in leading an energized and successful team of Development Bankers, as we seek to have a positive impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Canada. In addition to my involvement in the HKCBA the past 3 years, I’ve also been a past board member of the Kingston Technology Council as well as several smaller not-for-profit organizations.
Director
Sheila Mason
Director, Consulting & Deals
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Sheila Mason is a Director in PwC’s Technology Advisory practice with over 10 years of experience in the areas of program and project management, business planning, and training development and delivery. Sheila has applied her skills and expertise across a wide breadth of industries in public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. She is also a graduate of the University of Ottawa's Telfer Executive MBA Program, holds a degree in electrical engineering from McGill University, and is PMP- and PRINCE2-certified. In addition to her Board role with HKCBA Ottawa, Sheila also chairs the HKCBA National Communications Committee.
Director
Frank Eng
Senior Partner
The Whitestone Group
Frank Eng is a Senior Partner with The Whitestone Group. As a bilingual senior leader with over 28 years of strategic management and leadership experience including financial responsibility within Canada’s healthcare industry, Frank leads the healthcare information technology and systems practice for the Group. He has a proven ability to consistently develop and deliver customer focused information systems solutions resulting in increased customer satisfaction. Frank is excited to serve on the Board of the HKCBA Ottawa and looks forward to working with and getting to know its members.
Director
Lance Wang
Managing Director
Longenius International Communication Corporation
Lance Wang is Managing Director of Longenius International Communication Corporation.
As a business-minded communication professional, Lance’s career journey revolves around the Asia-Pacific. He had been an award-winning journalist in China where he led a news team and reported Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao affairs before he went to Australia to conduct his postgraduate research in 2007. Having obtained his PhD from Macquarie University in Sydney, Lance moved to Ottawa, Canada and has been acting as the Editorial Manager of Transnational Corporations Review (TNCR) since 2013.
Being appointed as the HKCBA Director in August 2015, Lance has a passion for leveraging strategic communication to strengthen business and cultural ties between Canada and Asia, in particular through the gateway of Hong Kong.
Director
Deng Liao
Senior Advisor, GTA Education Technology
Project Leader, Cisco Canada
Dr. Liao received a Master's Degree in Engineering Management from Australian National University and a Ph.D. Degree in Computer Engineering from Concordia University. He is a Senior Advisor of two well-known companies in China, the GTA Education Technology in Shenzhen and the Bailong Green Science and Technology Group in Beijing. He is a project leader at Cisco Canada, where he is leading an engineering team to deliver Cloud Computing solutions. He is also a guest professor at Shaoyang University, Hunan, China. He was on the editorial board of four international journals and worked as Organizing Chair/Technical Committee Member for more than 40 international conferences in Computer Science and Engineering.
Director
Sheri Zhang
Professor and Founding Director, Language, Literacy and Culture Studies
uOttawa Chinese-Japanese Language & Culture Centre
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa
Sheri Zhang is the founding professor and pedagogical adviser of the degree program of Asian Studies at the University of Ottawa; she pioneered the work of establishing an Asian Studies Major in 2011 after being promoted to full professor. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses and supervises students. She is one of the pillars in the development of the Department’s program of World Literatures and Cultures. As the founding director of the uOttawa Chinese-Japanese Language & Culture Centre, with the support of all administrative levels at the University of Ottawa, she assisted the University of Ottawa in developing a successful joint program with China's renowned institution, Tsinghua University, providing Canadian students with the valuable opportunity to study, teach and conduct research in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Prof. Zhang has a key role in assisting the University of Ottawa’s opening up to Asia, which she is implementing through her two-tier employment at the University of Ottawa: while working as a full-time professor, she also teaches Asian Studies courses in the part-time category.
From 2003 to 2005, she served as Associate Professor at Nagoya University of Commerce and Business in Japan. She was invited as a Canadian China scholar to meet with the Canadian Prime Minister's team during their Tokyo visit, before they went to China for the second leg of their trip. Sheri Zhang became Professor and Associate Dean and professor at Nanchang University in China in September 2005. Prior to her joining Team Canada trade missions to China and Asia, she had been a Lecturer at the Xi'an International Studies University from 1983 to 1986.
Director
Craig Brisco
Owner
Henderson Brisco & Co.
Craig Brisco is the owner of Henderson Brisco & Co., a boutique China advisory and consulting firm that specializes in providing its clients with independent and objective advise on matters relating to China. This it does from the twin perspectives of the long-term, and the management of risk, randomness, and uncertainty. A long-time Sinophile and Mandarin speaker, Craig spent many years working in China in the field of supply chain management during the boom years of the mid-2000s. He has experience with a variety of products including camping equipment, musical instruments, and electric bicycles. A serial entrepreneur, Craig has founded three companies over the years in the fields of information technology, supply chain management, and consulting. A world traveler, Craig spent time growing-up in several countries, including Brazil, Italy, and the UK. He speaks four languages and holds a degree in anthropology from UCL in the UK.
Director
Marie-Josée Lavoie
Founder and President
GreenCompete Inc.
Marie-Josée Lavoie is the Founder and President of GreenCompete Inc., a marketing collaboration firm that provides marketing advice and partnering opportunities to help organisations grow and compete in today’s green economy.
She has an extensive experience in developing collaborations between Canadians and Chinese businesses and organisations. She has participated in Hong Kong trade missions to Canada in the environment sector and planned many Canadian trade missions to China for her economic development organisations’ clients. She recently had the opportunity to work collaboratively with the China Education Association for International Exchange in hosting the World Congress of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics in Beijing, China.
Her background encompasses a wide range of management roles in the areas of strategic planning, partnership development, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, marketing and communications in the private and public sector organisations, including work at Shell, Hewlett Packard and Bell Aluminium, Environment Canada, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), the United Nations, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Marie-Josée has an Executive MBA with a focus on international business and BA with a specialization in international relations. She is on the Board of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Ottawa) and member of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals.
Marie-Josée is learning Chinese (mandarin) and she holds a black belt second dan in Karate.
Marie-Josée can be reached at lavoie@greencompete.com
Director
Amy Willis
Director, Investments and Consulting
Pinnacle Global
Amy Willis is a Director with Pinnacle Global, a private equity and consultancy firm that provides real estate investment management services for Chinese investors and consulting services that help both Chinese and Canadian companies expand and penetrate markets in Canada and China.
Amy has over 10 years of experience in strategic planning, operations, finance, and partnership development in China, Hong Kong, Canada, and the U.S. She has first-hand knowledge of doing business in China and a sound understanding of the local business landscape in China and Hong Kong. She is passionate about making a real difference by solving business issues and building solid strategic relationships to drive organizations forward. Her passion for helping others to succeed has earned her a proven record of business success, which has been featured on CBC, CTV, Rogers, and in the Ottawa Citizen.
Amy received her MBA from Queen’s University and Honours Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from the University of Ottawa. She is also a Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified Management Accountant (CPA, CMA) and holder of the Certificate for Responsible Leadership from Queen’s School of Business. Amy is fluent in English and Mandarin.
Director
Yang Yang
Area Sales Manager, Ottawa and Greater Ottawa Area
CIBC
Contact information: 613-668-1168 // email: yang1.yang@cibc.com
Yang's bio will be updated soon...
Director (HK)
Winston Kan
Managing Director
Greater China Strategic Excecutive Search Group
Winston Kan is the Managing Director, Greater China of the Strategic Executive Search (SES) Group. Based in Hong Kong with regular travel to China, he is a key member of the firm's Consumer & Retail, Industrial, Financial and Professional Services Practice Groups.
Winston has extensive and diverse experience in both the private and public sector, devoting over 20 years in Clean Tech, Financial Services and Industrial Manufacturing, with a focus on Greater China and the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining SES, Winston was the Senior Manager, Business Development for Asia Pacific with IMW Compressor Shanghai, a subsidiary of IMW Industries of Chilliwack, B.C. From 2004-2010, Winston was the Chief Representative, Greater China for Export Development Canada, where he led the financing business for Canada’s Export Credit Agency, based in Beijing and then Shanghai.
Previously, Winston held several senior appointments, including Director, Asia for the Royal Canadian Mint from 1996-2002; Head of Sales, Asia for EHC Global, where he aggressively developed business in China and Asia, as well as assisted the set up of a manufacturing facility in Shanghai for this leading supplier for escalators; and Senior Consultant for Intercedent. In Canada, Winston was with Hewlett Packard-Canada and served as an Assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister and to a number of Members of Parliament, based in Ottawa. Winston started his career with the Electricity Supply Board in Ireland and the Jardine Matheson Group in the U.K.
Winston is currently a HK based representative director of the Hong Kong Canada Business Association Ottawa Chapter, Vice Chair of the China Business Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. While living in China, he had served as Vice Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and Acting Chair for 6 months from 2012-2013. He was also a director of the Canada China Business Council Beijing Chapter and had served as Founding Chairman of the Shanghai Sub-Committee of the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association from 2008-2010 and was a member of the APLMA China Committee. He was also a co-founder of the Concordia University Beijing and Shanghai Alumni Chapters and serves on the Board of the Concordia University Hong Kong Foundation Ltd.
Winston is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. He graduated with a Bachelor of Administration Degree from Concordia University in Montreal. He enjoys golfing and travelling.
External Board Advisor
Kathy Chan
Director, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (Toronto)
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Miss Kathy Chan joined the Hong Kong Special Administration Government in 1999 as a member of the Administrative Officer Grade. Before taking up the Director post in the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Toronto in November 2015, she had worked in different offices, including the Home Affairs Bureau, the Home Affairs Department, the then Economic Development and Labour Bureau, the Shanghai Office and the Education Bureau. Before coming to Toronto, Miss Chan served as the Principal Assistant Secretary for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, responsible for policy matters on support for small and medium enterprises, postal services, and trade relations of Hong Kong with the Mainland and Taiwan. Miss Chan received her Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
External Board Advisor
Andrew Yui
Director, Canada
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
Andrew was appointed Director, Canada at Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in July 1993.
HKTDC is Hong Kong’s statutory body responsible for the promotion of international trade (imports and exports) in merchandise, services and technologies, via the Hong Kong platform. The Council works through a network of more than 40 offices worldwide.
Andrew Leads the Council’s Canadian operations and the HKTDC team located in Toronto. “Team HKTDC Canada”, in close co-operation with many like-minded public and private-sector multipliers, assists Canadian companies from coast to coast in accessing and reassessing their business opportunities in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the rest of Asia through the Hong Kong platform.
Prior to his emigration from Hong Kong to Canada, Andrew held trade development and promotion posts including Assistant Manager of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Market Officer at HKTDC headquarters, and Attaché commercial for the Government of Québec Office in Hong Kong.
Executive Coordinator, Ottawa Section
Sammie Swietlicki
Hong Kong-Canada Business Association
hkcbaottawa@hkcba.com
Sammie Swietlicki is the Executive Coordinator of HKCBA. She oversees the coordination and administration of ongoing events by meeting with the Directors, leading the volunteer team and taking care of the logistics. Sammie is fluent in English, Mandarin, Russian, basic French. She enjoys the outdoors, especially camping and summer festivals. If you have any questions or suggestions about our activities or would like to get more information about doing business in Asia through Hong Kong, please email Sammie at hkcbaottawa@hkcba.com.