The Spirit of Hong Kong Awards are judged by an esteemed panel to ensure the awards are being recognised as authoritative, in-touch, and positive image to our readers and the public.
Founder and Managing Director, Altaya Group
Mr Paulo Pong is the Founder and Managing Director of Altaya Group.
In the arts, cultural and tourism sphere, Mr Pong is the Chairman to the Board of Ocean Park Corporation; a Board Member of WKCDA; a Board of Director of M+ Museum Ltd; the Governing Board Chairman of JCCAC and a Member of Hong Kong Film Development Council.
Mr Pong is also the Honorary Court Member of Hong Kong Baptist University; Member of HKTDC Hong Kong-Europe Business Council; Vice President of The Hong Kong Chinese Importers and Exporters Association; a Member of Former Directors Committee and Vice Patron of The Community Chest of Hong Kong; The Advisor of the Our Hong Kong Foundation; the Convenor of the Advisory Committee of 21C@JC; and the Chairman of The 11 th and 12 th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards Judging Panel. He has been Justice of the Peace since July 2018 and awarded the HKSAR Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2024.
Mr Pong obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Chairperson of Women’s Commission
Dr. Eliza C. H. Chan is a non-official Member of HKSAR Executive Council, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (“CPPCC”), Standing Member of CPPCC Tianjin Committee and Permanent Honorary Chairman of Hong Kong CPPCC (Provincial) Members Association. She is currently Chairperson of Women’s Commission. She has served in a number of Hong Kong Government-appointed positions, notably as a member of Hong Kong Hospital Authority, member of Hong Kong Public Service Commission, member of Hong Kong Board of Education, member of Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Chairman of Public Complaints Committee under Hong Kong Hospital Authority, Chairman of Kowloon Hospital, Chairman of Hong Kong Eye Hospital, Chairman of Tseung Kwan O Hospital, Chairman of Pensions Appeal Panel, adjudicator of Hong Kong Immigration Tribunal, Investigation Panel Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Council member of The University of Science & Technology and Board member of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Corporation.
She also serves as Vice-chairperson of Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited and as Independent Non-Executive Directors of several Hong Kong listed companies.
Chief Executive, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
Mr Chua Hoi Wai is the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), which represents over 520 non-governmental social services organisations. The HKCSS aims at building a socially sustainable society through enhancing social services and policies development and promoting cross-sectoral collaboration.
Mr Chua has participated in a number of advisory or statutory bodies of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He is currently a member of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health.
Mr Chua is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong in Mechanical Engineering. He studied for a Master of Social Work in Chicago at University of Illinois and is now a social worker by profession. He was the President of the Hong Kong Social Workers Association (2004 – 2008).
Managing Director, ConnectedGroup
Mathew has been in the recruitment and search industry since 1997 and in Hong Kong (with ConnectedGroup) since 2001. In addition to leading the business, Mathew engages with clients to discuss their operational and market strategy from CEO’s office down. He aligns ConnectedGroup’s service offering across all functions and often operates as an account manager for key clients. In addition, Mathew has helped define and shape ConnectedGroup’s social purpose and his team supports the not for profit community in Hong Kong, connecting talent to help amplify worthy causes including via their www.Recruit4Good.com initiative. Mathew is also a board member at the Fair Employment Foundation, Fair Employment Agency, SPCA Hong Kong and Chairman of the Board at International College Hong Kong.
Non-Executive Director and Director of Philanthropy of Sino Group
Nikki Ng Mien Hua is the Director of Philanthropy of Sino Group and a Non-Executive Director of Sino Land Company Limited, Tsim Sha Tsui Properties Limited and Sino Hotels (Holdings) Limited. She is the Group’s ESG Steering Committee member, Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation Director, Hong Kong Innovation Foundation Deputy Chairman and Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Director. Ms. Ng holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a Master of Arts degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University College of London. She is a member of the 14th Shanghai Committee of the CPPCC. She is a General Committee member of the HKGCC, member of the Personal Data (Privacy) Advisory Committee of the Privacy Commission and serves as a non-official member of the Commission on Poverty and a member of its Community Care Fund, Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Forces. She serves on The Hospital Governing Committee of Queen Elizabeth Hospital and its Charitable Trust, and the Advisor of the Institute of Mental Health of Castle Peak Hospital. She is a trustee member of Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong and The Society for Panda Conservation, Mind Hong Kong’s board member, Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association’s honorary advisor, a Director of Tai Kwun Culture and Arts Company Limited, and The Community Chest of Hong Kong.
Deputy Chairman, Sino Group
Dr Daryl Ng, Deputy Chairman of Sino Group and Founding Chairmen of the Hong Kong Innovation Foundation (HKIF), Hong Kong Community Foundation and Hong Kong-ASEAN Foundation, is a committed advocate of good causes for the betterment of society.
With a mission of building a better future together, Mr Ng has founded the HKIF, a holistic innovation ecosystem, the Hong Kong Community Foundation and the Hong Kong-ASEAN Foundation. The HKIF collaborates with industry players and serves diverse sectors from pupils to entrepreneurs to innovate for future generations and to support Hong Kong’s growth into an international innovation and technology hub.
Under Mr Ng’s leadership, proprietary innovations such as In-building Hydropower System and City Air Purification System have received local and international recognitions, including the CIC Innovation Award, International Exhibition of Invention Geneva, Silicon Valley International Invention Festival and Green Good Design Awards.
Mr Ng is enthusiastic about supporting the youth, and has initiated an array of undertakings conducive to youth development such as the Go Code Programme, Sino Junior Reporter Programme, Hospitality Young Leaders Programme to empower the young generations with essential skills.
In 2008, the Ng Family set up the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation to revitalise historic buildings and promote appreciation of cultural heritage. Tai O Heritage Hotel, converted from the Old Tai O Police Station, a Grade II historic building, opened doors in March 2012. The hotel is a devoted member of the Tai O community; since opening, it has been providing complimentary docent tours daily, welcomed more than 2 million visitors from Hong Kong and overseas, and participated in over 100 community services. It has received over 30 international and local accolades, including the 2013 Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation organised by the UNESCO, becoming Hong Kong’s first UNESCO-awarded hotel.
In 2010, the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation was set up in memory of the late founder of Sino Group, Mr Ng Teng Fong. The Foundation places heavy emphasis on education, youth development and community services, areas that are crucial to long-term development of society. It has donated to over 300 local non-governmental organisations, universities and social enterprises. It established the Ng Teng Fong Scholarships in 2015 to provide financial aid for outstanding secondary and university students in Hong Kong and Mainland; more than 8,000 students have received scholarships so far in ten years.
The HKSAR Government awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star to him in 2021 in recognition of his contributions to the community, in particular his work on heritage in Tai O and overseas. He received the Jinghua Award from the Beijing Municipal Government in 2020 for his contributions to international cooperation and development of Beijing as a world-class city. He was honoured with the Insignia of Knight in the National Order of Merit by the French Government in 2021 in recognition of his contributions to heritage conservation and youth development. Also UNESCO appointed Mr Ng as Special Adviser to the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2023.
Former Chairman, South China Morning Post
Dr David J. Pang was the Chairman of SCMP Group Limited, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Corporate VP of E.I. DuPont, and Chairman of DuPont Greater China. He also served on the Board of Visa Inc. and Broad Group.
He was taught at Columbia University, New York, College of Engineering. He is currently the Honorary Mentor of Yuanpei College Peking University, advisor for the Centre of Modern China Studies at the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University and the Adjunct Professor in both Faculty of Business Administration of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the College of Business of City University of Hong Kong.
Editor-in-Chief, South China Morning Post
Tammy Tam is the South China Morning Post’s Editor-in-Chief, responsible for its editorial direction, development strategies and overall operations for both the print and digital platforms. She plays an
instrumental role in SCMP’s continuing journey of digitization which has turned this Hong Kong’s newspaper of record into a digital-first global brand with growing global influence by leading the SCMP editorial teams in providing worldwide readers and audience with credible, fact-based and non-partisan digital products and content. She leads the fast development of the Hong Kong rooted SCMP into an internationally recognized news platform with overseas bureaus and correspondents in mainland China, the US, Europe and major Asian countries. Tammy is committed to advance and elevate the quality of journalism in this challenging digital era.
Before joining SCMP in late 2011, Tammy served in different key management roles in major TV broadcasters in Hong Kong.
Tammy is Chairperson of Hong Kong News Executives’ Association and Vice Chairwoman of the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong. She is also a member of the World Editors Forum, Asia Chapter. She was a board member of the Media Communications Training Board, the Hong Kong Vocational Training Council, which is dedicated to training talents in the media industry, from 2017 to 2023.