Introducing the FCC’s New Members: October 2021

One likes football, another motorbikes, and there’s a keen fisherman, a passionate golfer and an avid hiker: but all of our new members seem to relish good food and drink. They’ll fit right in.

Originally from New Zealand (where my Malaysian wife Alison and I met as students), I am a commercial litigation barrister. Normally, we travel a lot, but Hong Kong (where we have lived most of our lives and where our two children were born and raised) is home. I have always enjoyed visiting the FCC and I should have sought membership long ago. Since last year’s dramatic changes to our law, I have taken a heightened interest in the protection of our freedoms and in particular our free media. This, plus my friends who are members, drew me to the FCC.

I am an RTHK radio presenter and freelance writer covering music and subculture, with a focus on electronic dance music. On Radio 3, I have produced and presented two specialist music programmes: “Asia Soundsystem” and “The Breakdown”. Currently, I am writing my doctoral thesis on the history of Hong Kong nightlife. Though piano was my first instrument, I have been deejaying professionally since 2018 and it is a passion that has informed much of my journalistic and academic trajectory. I also write as “Mengzy” (my DJ name), for Mixmag Asia. After music, my passion in life is food!

Originally from Mumbai, India, I have called Hong Kong home for the last 10 years. I am a frontier markets fund manager with a focus on Asia and my work has taken me to diverse countries ranging from Bangladesh and Iraq to Uzbekistan and Vietnam. I am a keen follower of geopolitics and enjoy listening to the diverse speakers the FCC invites for discussing important trends. Outside of work, I enjoy the Hong Kong outdoors and hopefully at some point in the future I would love to get back to exploring more countries.

I am a long-term British exile, who has called Asia home for more than 20 years. I’m a health insurance professional, husband to my beautiful wife, Kaoru, and father of a little girl, Rinka. It was becoming embarrassing how much time I was spending in the FCC bar freeloading off my member friends, so it was with mixed emotions I finally got membership in my own right: pleased I can sign for my own drinks; but nervous about how many people I owe drinks! You know who you are and where to find me…

I’m Deputy Consul General at the British Consulate. I arrived in Hong Kong in the summer of 2019, heavily pregnant with my second child. Shortly after maternity leave, I covered as Acting Consul-General from December 2020 to July 2021. Before Hong Kong, I was posted in Beijing, Riyadh and The Hague with several short stints in Sana’a when I headed up UK policy on Yemen. I studied as an economist and worked for Royal Bank of Scotland, HM Treasury and the Dutch development bank FMO. I love being in the hills (I’m Scottish), reading, learning languages and exploring Hong Kong.

I’m originally from London and moved to Hong Kong for three years in 2011. So 10 years on, I’m still here; I am sure this is a familiar story for many of us – the longer you are here, the tougher it is to leave. I’ve worked in asset management for 30-plus years. I am a passionate motorcyclist and when I am back in Europe I’m often found at the 21-kilometre Nürburgring’s Nordschleife circuit where I must have completed thousands of laps over the years, posting a best time of 8.52 minutes per lap.

I was born and educated in Hong Kong. I studied stage management at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and cultural management at Chinese University Hong Kong. I have been working in the arts management area for years and have worked for many arts organisations in Hong Kong and mainland China. My life is closely attached to the performing arts. I enjoy going to different kinds of performances as well as movies. I love spending time with friends to try out food from different countries.

Born in Malaysia, my family and I moved to Auckland where I received my high school and tertiary education. I am fortunate that work has allowed me to live in Singapore, Sydney and, now, Hong Kong. I enjoy watching major sports and am a staunch supporter of the All Blacks and Tottenham FC. I am married to a beautiful native Hong Kong wife. I work in the banking and finance sector specialising in infrastructure and energy and natural resources. I enjoy craft beers and all sorts of food from different cultures. My main hobby is fishing.

I grew up in Beijing, and moved to Sydney as a teenager. After graduating with a law degree, I joined a law firm in London, only to be packed off to Hong Kong. That was in 2002, and I’m still here. Nowadays, I’m a senior banker at Morgan Stanley, and Hong Kong is firmly home for me and my two children. I am an avid reader of current affairs, and enjoy balanced, thoughtful journalism. And the FCC Main Bar now has a 100-percent share of my monthly client entertainment budget.

Hailing from Glasgow, I’ve worked at the Australian International School Hong Kong with my wife, Lesley since 2004, teaching history and primary, respectively. We came for the obligatory two years, but 18 years later we’re ensconced in Sai Kung with our kids, Maia and Cai. I have a passion for football and still play for Kowloon Cricket Club, although these days it’s mainly at walking pace. Lesley and I are excited to be joining the FCC and we’re looking forward to spending time propping up the bar whilst having a few amber nectars.

Hong Kong’s pulse, pace and character are each unique and my wife and I very much enjoy living and working here. We were introduced to the FCC fairly early on after our arrival from Singapore. After a few visits, it instinctively felt like a place we would want to be part of and we are thrilled to be members. I am a career banker and my wife works with an NGO that supports financial literacy for domestic migrant workers. Outside of work, we love discovering new restaurants and we also enjoy hiking Hong Kong’s beautiful country parks.

I am a promotion designer with a love of travelling, music, arts and culture, meeting people and experiencing new adventures. I started my design career in the 1990s when I joined the Pearson group; I previously worked at a private club, providing branding and marketing design. As an avid arts and music lover (especially classical and jazz), I can’t wait to listen to live jazz at Bert’s. My other passion is travelling. I love to meet people from diverse backgrounds – something that I love about this small, multicultural city we live in. Since the pandemic, my travel bucket list is getting longer.