Exceptional Female Leaders and their Allies Celebrated at AmCham’s 18th annual Women of Influence Conference & Awards

Hong Kong – November 22, 2021 – Organized by the  American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (“AmCham”), and the WOI committee, the 18th Annual Women of Influence (WOI) Conference & Awards (第十八屆「最具影響力女性」論壇暨頒獎禮) was held on November 18 at Sky 100 (International Commerce Centre, Kowloon). Nine female leaders, a male ally, and leading company were recognized for their strong support and advocacy for women’s empowerment and leadership in their careers. 

The WOI Conference is one of the most established and prominent women’s symposiums in the Asia Pacific region. Themed “Invest in All of Us”, this year’s conference focused on creating a bringing the spotlight back to our Hong Kong community of members and supporters who believe that the future looks brighter when every woman feels that she can take a leadership role in all facets of her life. 

“It was an honor to host the Awards Ceremony this year; truly an event that is the culmination of a year-long effort to deliver on our vision of ‘championing the women leaders of today and empowering more women to become the leaders of tomorrow’. We were thrilled to see the positive reaction from our supporters with the new format – and of course beyond excited to have been joined by a number of our Hong Kong Olympians.  There was something in this years’ conference and lead up events for everyone!” said Mary McHale, Co-Chair of AmCham’s Women of Influence Committee. 

The awards ceremony – the finale event of a weeks-long lead up of events – commenced with an opening keynote by Heidi Lee, Executive Director of Hong Kong Ballet. Five high-achieving female leaders shared in the “Ignite Talks”, each five-minute rapid-fire presentations to inspire share stories that inspire and to create change. 

Guests were treated to a few insights from the Tokyo games and plans for the Beijing games from  Mr. Timothy Fok, President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (“SFOC”).  Mr. Fok was joined by Mr. Ronnie Wong, Honorary Secretary General of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (also the President of the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association), and Mr. Pui Kwan Kay, Chef de Mission of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and a delegation of Hong Kong female Olympians at the ceremony in celebration of Hong Kong athletes’ sportsmanship. Mr. Fok was invited to co-present AmCham’s new award “Leading Woman in Sports”, which recognizes a woman who has made remarkable contributions to the development, encouragement and reinforcement of women and girls' participation in sport on and off the field of play. 

The following awardees in ten categories were conferred accolades out of more than one hundred nominees: 

Professional of the Year 「最佳專才」
Angel Ng
CEO Hong Kong and Macau
Citi 

 Young Achiever of the Year 「傑出女青」
Anushka Purohit
CEO
Breer Limited

Entrepreneur of the Year 「最佳企業家」
Sharlene Jacquier
Director
Joint Dynamics Limited

Non-Profit Leader of the Year 「最佳非牟利領袖」
Fiona Nott
CEO
The Women's Foundation

Leading Woman on Boards 「傑出女董事」
Loretta Fong
Partner
PwC

Master of the Arts 「藝術大師」
Heidi Lee
Executive Director
Hong Kong Ballet

 Champion for the Advancement of Women 「最佳推動女性進步者」
Adrian Warr
CEO Hong Kong, Taiwan & Thailand and APAC Employee Experience Leader
Edelman

Leading Woman in STEM 「科研領袖」
Ying Chau
Professor
The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

Best Company for Women 「最支持女性僱員公司」
Sun Life

Leading Woman in Sports 「傑出女運動員」
Stephanie Au
Full Time Elite Athlete
Hong Kong China Swimming Association 

Camille Cheng
Athlete
Hong Kong China Swimming Association

Spirit of Hong Kong 「香港精神」
Hong Kong Women’s Swim Team
Hong Kong Olympians
 

Nearly 350 of the leading figures in support of women’s empowerment gathered in the ceremony to honor the women and men of Hong Kong who work tirelessly to elevate and support women.  

The success of this year’s events series would not be possible without the generous sponsorship of Citi, Goldman Sachs, RGA, Equinix, Haven Technologies Asia, JLL, Lim-Loges & Masters, Nardello & Co., Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, FedEx Express, Sky100 - Hong Kong's Observation Deck (Sky Scape Sponsor), Straub Collaborative (Content Creation Partner), DAVISAGE, and ZiGi + MARAiS (Beauty & Lifestyle Sponsors), and Bonaqua, Taipan Beer Co, and Natnatlife (Beverage Sponsors). 

Our heartfelt gratitude to the supporting organizations (in alphabetical order): American Women’s Association of Hong Kong, Community Business, Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide, German Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, Redress, The Women Entrepreneurs Network, The Women’s Foundation, as well as WHub. 

AmCham Women of Influence Committee Co-Chairs Mary McHale and Jessica Chan (Photo: AmCham HK)

(Photo: AmCham HK)

Delegation of Hong Kong Olympians led by Mr. Timothy Fok, Mr. Ronnie Wong and Mr. Pui Kwan Kay (Photo: AmCham HK) 

Enquiries: 
Queenie Tsui (Ms.)
Director, Communications & Government Affairs
E-mail: qtsui@amcham.org.hk