Members Movements: October 2022

New Members

Correspondent

Mladen Antonv, Photo Editor-in-Chief for Asia-Pacific, AFP
Patrick Lamoine, Video Live Producer, AFP

Journalist

Aaron Busch, Self-Employed

Associates

Adrian Valenzuela, Chief Executive Officer, MCM Partners
Anthony Langridge, Chairman, OneGlobal
Ben Lo
Chia An-pei, CEO, SingAlliance (Hong Kong) Limited
Clement Lam, Freelance
Doron Grossman, Managing Director, Crawford (Hong Kong) Limited
Gigi Guo, Portfolio Manager, Invesco Hong Kong Ltd.
Helen Au, Barrister-at-Law, Self-Employed
Hing Chao, Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings
Janet Lee, Medical Doctor, Seoul Clinic
Jeffrey Lam, Analyst, Goldman Sachs
Jonathan Lloyd, Group Corporate Secretary, Jardine Matheson Limited
Jorge Marrero, Chief Operating Officer, BTIG Hong Kong Ltd
Justin Campbell, Director, Towers Watson Hong Kong Limited
Kelly Hutchison, Vice President, Head of HR, Gap International Sourcing Ltd.
Lee Li Hsien, Architectural Project Manager, Allied Properties
Lim Julian Chung Yi, Lawyer, Alpha Calibration
Mark de Silva, Senior ESG Engagement Analyst, HSBC Asset Management
Martin Kronborg, Fund Manager, Torq Capital
Paul Lam, Joint Chief Operating Officer, Mayfair & Ayers Financial Group Limited
Paul McSheaffrey, Partner, KPMG
Philip Wixon, Head of HR Transformation, The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Raymond Tam, Investment Banker, Yu Ming Investment Management Limited
Samuel Mak, Public Affairs Consultant, Madison Communications Limited
Tom Fu, Lawyer, Mayer Brown
Vanessa Barrs, Chair Professor of Companion Animal Health, City University of Hong Kong

Membership Replacements

Diplomatic

Genevieve Siebengartner, Diplomat, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General
Michael Anthony Crawford, Consul, U.S. Consulate General
Reid Ellie Chase, Consul, U.S. Consulate General
Simon James Biellett, Deputy Consul-General, British Consulate General Hong Kong

Absent

Correspondents

Dean Napolitano, Freelance
Gauri Narain, Editor, Gauri Media
Grischa Ruschendorf, Freelance Photographer
John Dawson, Freelance Journalist
Mahtani Shibani, Southeast Asia Correspondent, The Washington Post
Matthew Marsh, Presenter, FOX Sports Asia
Nakano Yoshiko, Freelance
Natasha Khan, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Pia Caspersen, Asia correspondent, Kristeligt Dagblad
Quentin Webb, Deputy Finance Editor for Europe, The Wall Street Journal
Raymond Barrett, Editor-in-Chief, Insurance Asia News
Simon James Gardner, Deputy Managing Editor, Thomson Reuters

Journalist

Clifford Buddle, Editor, SCMP
Gayatri Bhaumik, Editor, The Loop HK
Noreen Mir, Producer, Radio Television Hong Kong
Stuart Heaver, Freelance Journalist and Writer, Stuart Heaver Media

Associates

Adam Harper, Managing Director, Ashbury Communications Limited
Adrian Lungan, Chairman, Alpha Prime Investments Ltd.
Albert Hofmann, Retired
Ashok Bansal, Director, Phoenix Inc. Limited
Bernard Murphy, Partner, Solicitor, Medico-Legal Team, Howse Williams Bowers
Choy Wai Ting, Managing Director, China Renaissance Securities (HK) Limited
Christopher Appleton, Managing Director, Faye Holdings Ltd
Christopher Morley, Partner, Morley Chow Seto
David Crombie, CEO, Asia-Pacific Group
David Grodentz, Group Systems Interface Lead, HSBC
David Hudson, Hon. Fellow, The University of Hong Kong
David John Gardner, Senior Lecturer, Hong Kong Baptist University
David Levy, Director, Levco Holdings Limited
Elaine Pickering, Director, Secretariat Services Ltd
Eric Charrington, Retired
Gregory Davidson, Windrose Investment Management (Asia) Ltd. Partner
Guenther Ruff, Retired
Howel Thomas, Retired
Jeremy Stewardson, Chief Executive, ANREV
John Zendano, Managing Director, Daiwa Capital markets Hong Kong Limited
Lau Kityee Christina, Director, Laustrana Ltd
Laurent Bickert, Director – Project Development, Sita Waste Services Ltd
Lee Yee Man, Regional Head of Professional Ethics & Investigations, APAC Compliance Associate, BNP Paribas
Mrs Marguerite Walker, Retired
Mark Anthony Millar, Managing Partner, M Power Associates Limited
Ng Man Fong Willde, Retired
Nicholas Williams, Entertainment, Media and Arts Consultant, Self-Employed
Nigel Raymont, Coaching & training consultant, NMR Consulting
Paul McGee, Retired
Pekka Elias Antero Heikari, Founder & Executive Director, Eliron Logistics Ltd
Peter Troy, VP Asia, JAS International
Peter Yip, Senior Executive Service, Hong Kong Bank
Philip Skevington, Managing Director, Kinvara Capital Ltd
Prashant Gokhale, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Aletheia Capital
Qiu Bo Chun, Partner, Loeb&Loeb LLP
Rebecca Drake, Retired
Robert Lewis Green, Buyer, Amazing Grace Elephant Company Ltd
Stephen Hire, Vice President, Marketing, Viavi Solutions
Stuart Roseman, Director, Securities and Futures Commission
Susanne Nichols, CEO, International Cosmetic Suppliers Ltd
Tam Tsun Ki Lawrence, Chief Technology Officer, eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre Limited
Thomas Oates Henderson, Asia Regional Leader – Principal, Golder Associates (HK) Limited
Tony Chan, Freelance
William Fairclough, Director, Mandarin Shipping Limited
William Robbins, Head of Asia, IS Prime Hong Kong Limited
Yang Guofeng, Executive Director, Orient China Investments Limited

Resigned

Correspondents

Bill Rigby, Sport Enterprise Editor, Reuters
Blake Evans-Pritchard, Freelance
David Jonathan Watkins, Correspondent, Bloomberg
Eric Wishart, Asia-Pacific Regional Director, AFP
Erin Mendell, News Editor, Dow Jones
Mary Hui, Reporter, Quartz
Michael Church, Head of Sport, The Press Association
Michael Zennie, Senior Editor, Time Magazine
Scott Murdoch, Asia Capital Markets Correspondent, Thomson Reuters
Shai Oster, Reporter, Bloomberg

Journalist

Catherine Evans, Freelance
Geoffrey Kenneth Crothall, Retired
Marcy Trent Long, Producer, Sustainable Asia
Nicholas Westra, Freelance Reporter

Associates

Carolyn Lee, Head of University Counseling, Victoria Shanghai Academy
Choi Ching Yng, Head of Asia Representative, The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry
Daniel Hegglin, Owner, 4th Dimension Asset Management
David Hughes, Managing Director, Munich Re
Hiap Kian Gouw, Chairman, Goldig Investment Group Limited
Michael Gibson, Partner, Lim Advisors Ltd
Pan Aaron Jing Dao, Vice President, FWD Group
Philip Crowley, Freelancer
Simon Price, Head of Asian Sourcing, WH Smith Asia Limited
Wong Fung Han, Chief Executive, Consumer Council

Corporate

Patrick Perry, Partner, Clyde & Co
Salvatore Anthony Purpura, Managing Director, Macsteel International

Diplomatic

Lim Zhong Yi Kenneth, Vice – Consul (Information), Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore
Michael Kratzer, Deputy Consul General, Austrian Consulate General Hong Kong

Reactivated

Correspondent

Huh Dong Hyuck, Reporter, New Daily Korea
Peter Brieger, News Editor, Nikkei Asia

Journalist

Wong Yee Wai, Freelance Writer

Associates

Douglas Glen, Chief Strategy Officer and Director, Hanson Robotics Limited
Ellen Coetzee, Dept. Wine Manager, The Dairy Farm Company Ltd
Koon Ho Ming Peter Douglas, Legislator, Legislative Councillor
Mary Devereux, Managing Director, Right Here Right Now Ltd
Mona Shroff, Director, Mona Shroff Jewellery
Stephen So, Director, T.M.Ho, So & Leung CPA LTD
Vijay Kumar Valiram Harjani, Retired

Category Changes

Associate to Honorary Widow

Priya Kirpalani, Director, Sunda Investment Co
Tam Miu Lin May

Associate to Silver Associate

Peter Stevenson, Managing Director, Macnab Drummond Ltd.
Mr Vincent Wan, Chairman, Wan (Corporate Services) Ltd

Correspondent to Silver Correspondent

Gerard Henry, Hong Kong section Foreign Correspondent and President UPF Hong Kong Correspondent, Union Presse Francophone (UPF)

Deaths

We regret to announce the deaths of:

Tong Ka Wing Carl

The Build Your Own Burger Challenge

Knife and fork poised, and drooling only ever so slightly, Adam White kicks off a new regular food review, perusing the FCC’s most existentially draining, life-affirming menu item.

There is a certain genre of food that demands a little more from the consumer than the average meal. A bit of buy-in, some of the sweat from their brow. Before you eat, you will work for your meal.

Exhibit A is cook-it-yourself cuisine: meals in which the ingredients are brought to you in some degree of disarray, and it is for some reason your job to carry out the alchemy required to transform them all into something delicious. Prime examples are fondue, hot pot, yakiniku, Korean barbecue. In each there is a single difference between, say, tender tofu and disintegrating mush. Between perfectly tender wagyu beef and an expensive piece of charcoal. That difference is you.

Many go out to eat to avoid these troubles. You order beef in a restaurant and expect, reasonably, to be served a well-cooked steak, not a well-done one. You are happy to have left the cooking to the professionals. But when I’m searing short ribs at a Korean barbecue joint, or dunking bone marrow into a hotpot broth for just long enough – for a shining bite-sized moment, I can pretend I’m a professional too. The difference is me.

There is, of course, the other form of food which demands a little more work. Exhibit B: the build-it-yourself meal. In which you are presented with a galaxy of options, and asked to choose wisely. The hotel buffet, the Pizza Hut salad bar of Hong Kong legend, the cart noodle stand. It’s dealer’s choice: now craft something delicious. This is perhaps much harder than the cook-it-yourself meal. Dunking balls at a hotpot – that’s easy. Choosing the flavours which merge into something greater: well, that takes a little more skill.

Enter, then, the FCC’s Build Your Own Burger: a HK$148 checkboxed crash course in the tyranny of choice.

You are handed the menu and a pen, and you make your selection from the ground up. Choose one of four bases – sesame or brioche bun, ciabatta or English muffin. Choose your patty, one of seven: ranging from wagyu beef (an extra HK$30) to chicken burger, soft-shell crab to the vegan Beyond patty. Choose your potato iteration of choice: chunky steak fries, skinny French fries or potato wedges. (Get the potato wedges: they’re excellent.)

And now the options open up like a burger van hitting an open highway. Pick from one, two, three or more of 12 toppings – onion marmalade to applewood smoked bacon, Emmenthal to gherkins, a fried egg to half an avocado. Any of four condiments to sit on the side. Or, perhaps all of the above. Who’s to stop you but yourself?

We order three burgers, trying to make the wisest choices we can.

1) A fairly straightforward bacon cheeseburger. Onion marmalade, Emmental, lettuce, tomato, gherkins, on a sesame bun. The McDonald’s glow-up. The burger is very good, medium-rare as it should be (there’s no guarantee of that in this town). Enough char for flavour, pink enough to stay tender. The cheese needs to be more melted. A stiff square sitting on a toasted bun is a sad thing to behold.

2) Teriyaki Philly steak slices on ciabatta with red cheddar, jalapeño. Bafflingly, the steak arrives in a small bowl, with the ciabatta containing everything else beside it. The reason is soon clear: the teriyaki sauce is plentiful. Constructing and eating this burger is a sloppy affair, though the sauce is excellent with the fries.

3) Falafel in a brioche, with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and half an avocado. Peri peri sauce for a bit of zing. The falafel patty is large, dense and well-cooked though it’s a struggle to see it through to the end. This might have been because we ordered three burgers for two people. The peri peri sauce tastes like a black bean sauce from a cha chaan teng, which is confusing.

The service is, as ever, impeccable. Michael, Andrew and Allan swing by with plentiful drinks (HK$50 draft beer when you order the burger menu). I mull the results of my choices, sitting before me on mostly empty plates.

I’ve done the maths because it seemed like an amusing thing to do. Do take my word for it when I say that there are eleven million, ten thousand and forty-eight possible unique combinations to order on the FCC’s Build Your Own Burger menu.

I think I’ve chosen fairly well, on the whole. But the question becomes: how many of these 11,010,048 choices would have been a disaster? Most of us can get on board with a bacon cheeseburger. But does Cajun soft shell crab topped with jalapeños and mustard engender quite the same enthusiasm?

In terms of sheer numbers, what’s the difference between the two? Nothing. It’s just another possible combination in a list of 11 million and more. The only difference was me.

We make more than 11,010,048 choices in a lifetime, and not every one of them can be a success. For every bacon and cheese, there’s chalk and cheese out there instead. Ordering a burger is just another choice. An opportunity to maybe get it wrong.

Yet we learn from our mistakes: if you order a burger poorly, then you have learned, and you have grown. You have learned that your choices in life lie open before you like a burger menu, 11 million and many more. You learn to lick your wounds and the grease from your fingers, and to choose better the next time. That’s why you owe it to yourself to try the Build Your Own Burger Menu. You need to discover that the difference is you. n

Build Your Own Burger throughout the club from 4-31 July.

Adam White

Hong Kong born and raised, Adam White is group editor at Cedar Communications, where he is in charge of content for Cathay. He is a former FCC board member of slightly too many years’ standing and previously worked at the SCMP’s Inkstone and ran city-living bible HK Magazine.

Adam White Credit: Mike Pickles

Members Movements: July 2022

New Members

Journalist

Qin Feng, Director of New Department VP of News Channel, HKSTV

Associates

John Corbett, Psychologist and Lawyer
Finn Dattenberg-Doyle, Global Markets Division, Goldman Sachs (Asia)
Carmen Lam, Consultant, Crikx & Co Limited
Ben Lau, Research Scientist Shell Street Labs
Leung Ho-ming, Founder & CEO, VICO Capital Limited
Brian Ng, Executive, VBG Group
Shirley Ng, Self-Employed
Daniel Rupp, Research Director, Overlook Investments Limited
Mark Andrew Tinker, Investor, Toscafund HK Limited
Tracy Wong, Owner, Chilli Fagara
Winnie Wong, Trustee, The Law Debenture Corporation HK Limited
Ann Yeung Mo-sheung, Consultant Solicitor, Fung & Fung Solicitors

Diplomatic

Rachel Brunette-Chen, Diplomat, Consulate General of the United States of America
Edward Green, Army Liaison Officer, Consulate General of the United States of America
Cody W. Swyer, Diplomat, Consulate General of the United States of America

Membership Replacements

Corporate

Natalie Cade, Managing Director, UBS AG
Ella Lee Wai-man Ella, Director, The University of Hong Kong
Grace Ng, Deputy Director of Information Services, Information Services Department
Andre Werner Kroneberg, Managing Director and Chief Underwriting Officer Asia, Gard (HK) Limited

Diplomatic

Rachael Victoria Bedlington, Consul General, Consulate General of Canada
Robert James Frampton, Diplomat, Consulate General of British
Bridget Veal, Diplomat, British Consulate General Hong Kong

Absent

Correspondents

Chan Chi-chai, Publisher, Nuovo Grafica Publications Limited
Chris Oliver, Bureau Chief, Dow Jones Market Watch
Ilaria Maria Sala, Contributor, Quartz
Lara Setrakian, Reporter, Bloomberg News
Elliot Wilson, Greater China Editor, Euromoney
Peter Qiu, Commentator, Phoenix Satellite TV

Journalist

Janice Leung Kwok-ting, Freelance
Raymond Ma, Freelance Journalist
Enid Tsui, Arts Editor, SCMP
Tanja Wessels, Senior Writer, Macau Closer Magazine

Associates

William Barrar, Self-Employed
Steven Book, Retired
Jason Carmichael, Partner, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain
Chan Man-nei, Self-Employed
Jack Cheng, Associate, Erik Cheng & Co
Jessica Cheng, Manager, Lui Che Woo Priza Limited
Ellen Coetzee, Department Wine Manager, The Dairy Farm Company Limited
Nigel Collett, Managing Director, The Gurkha International Group
Philip Eisenbeiss, Partner, Executive Access Limited
Janusz Erlichman, CEO, Bigtime Limited Trading As Micron Technology
Sunshine Farzan, Vice President, Head of Marketing & Communications, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Douglas Gerber, CEO, Focus One
Adrian Gostick, Account Management, Avaloq
Han Minhee, Business Development Manager, Bollore Logistics Hong Kong Limited
Bernd Hanemann, Retired
Charles Wilson Hawley, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), GLP
Tara Joseph, President, The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
Michel Oscar Jospe, Managing Director, Methong Plastics (H.K.) Limited
Dagmar Jurick , Director, Pentland Ltd
William Kaye, Senior Managing Director, The Pacific Group Limited
Antony Keenan, Director, Qualis Asia Limited
Oliver Kilpatrick, Analyst, Societe Generale
Adriana Korkosova, Director, AI Creative Limited
Goran Kostic, Head of Integration Product Management, Swift SCRL
Philip Krichilsky, CEO, Innovative Directions
Vishwanath Krishnamurthi, Managing Director, Star Line Traders Limited
Jessica Law Pik-lin, Self-Employed
Ian McDonald, Director & Executive General Adjuster, Crawford (Hong Kong) Limited
Timothy McNally, Chairman, Nagacorp
Maureen Mills, Director, Executive Homes Hong Kong Ltd
Michael Moser, Independent Arbitrator, Twenty Essex Chambers
Rodney Olsen, Chairman, Youtap Limited
Brett Rohrsheim, Self-Employed
Timothy Shepherd, Director, AP Continental Limited
John Sunderland, Instructor, Cathay Pacific
Rebecca Angus Tsang Chor-kwan, Retired
Suzanne Watkinson, Managing Director, Ambiente Properties Limited
Alexander Ackerl Williams, Chairman, Wogen Pacific Limited
Keith Wingrad, Senior Government Counsel, Department of Justice
Anthony Wong, CEO, A&S Broadcast Limited
Alfred Yeung, Partner, Brock Carmichael Architects
Yip Pak-keung, Partner, Drs. B.S. Vaughan & Associates
Bruce Yung, Founder & Managing Director, BVB Group Limited

Reactivated

Correspondent

Pia Elers Caspersen, Asia Correspondent, Danish Christian Daily

Journalist

Shirley Lau, Freelance Journalist

Associates

Polly Yu, Director, Polly Yu Production Limited

Resigned

Correspondents

Tracy Ellen Alloway, Executive Editor, Bloomberg
Huang Jingyi, Correspondent, Singapore Press Holdings
Abhishyant Kidangoor, Video Producer, TIME Magazine
Ronald Lim Seng-hin, Hong Kong Bureau Chief, MCN International Pte Limited
Nicolle Liu Ka-wun, News Researcher, Financial Times
Iain Marlow, Senior Asia Government Reporter, Bloomberg
Gillian Nadel, Creative Services Manager, Edipresse Hong Kong Limited
Rahul Sachitanand, Associate Editor , Campaign Asia-Pacific
Natalia Villegas, Freelance Journalist

Journalist

James Andrew Legge, Sub-Editor, South China Morning Post

Associates

Kirsten Mary Boazman, Retired
Steve Carruthers, Executive Director Investigations, MGM Macau
Hyeonza Hong, Senior Vice President Sales, Asia, ITV Studios Global Entertainment

Corporate

Jonathan Cressey, Regional Head of Tax, Asia Pacific, British American Tobacco Asia-Pacific Region Limited
Marko Jelicic, Senior Manager, Communications & Advocacy, BASFEast Asia Regional Headquarters Limited
Nicholas Maran, Director of Research, Asia, Elliott Advisors (HK) Limited
Michael Scott Hayes, Regional Director, British American Tobacco Asia-Pacific Region Limited
Tung Ning, Head of China Market Research, Elliott Advisors (HK) Limited

Diplomatic

Erika Beherens, Consul, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
Kate Louise MacFarlane, Deputy Consul-General, New Zealand Consulate General Hong Kong

Category Changes

Associate to Silver Associate

Merle Allan Hinrich, Chairman, Hinrich Foundation

Correspondent to Honorary Widow

Karin Malmstrom, Founder and CEO, KMA Strategic Communications

Deaths

We regret to announce the deaths of:

Nic Gaunt, Photographer
Surendar Kirpalani, Director, Sunda Investment Co
Robin Piers Lynam, Journalist, South China Morning Post

The Correspondent, July – September 2022

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Robin Lynam died before he could complete his final assignment, which was slated to be the cover story for the April issue of The Correspondent.

Here, we publish his affectionate, witty, erudite musings on our club, which was more or less his second home.

Forty years on Ice House Street, given the FCC’s prior history of rather shorter tenancies, is quite a landmark. Even the celebrated years in our last home in Sutherland House numbered just 15, from 1968 until 1982, when the club formally re-opened in the current well-loved – and, let it be said, well cared-for – heritage building.

Of course, some of the heritage value of the North Block of the Old Dairy Farm Building derives from it being one of the few structures in Hong Kong of any antiquity yet to be demolished.

Quite a lot, though, has to do with what its walls have witnessed over the past four decades. The FCC has played a crucial role in the reporting of a historic era for both Hong Kong and mainland China.

I can’t quite claim to have been there from the beginning of that time. I was an occasional guest from not long after the opening until leaving Hong Kong for a while in 1987, finally signing up for membership in 1990. Still UK-based at that time, I had been making the most extensive use of visiting journalists’ privileges until then president Paul Bayfield pointed out that since I seemed to be using the Main Bar as a living room, I really ought to start paying some dues, and handed me a form.

I can vividly remember my introduction to the Main Bar in 1982. The late Richard Hughes was still holding court at the Club Table, and I immediately loved that original solid timber bar in a way I have never quite warmed to the cracked veneer of its successor. For a lowly paid Hong Kong newcomer, however, this was clearly unaffordable, and for my first stint here I settled for the rather humbler Press Club in Wanchai, where quite a few FCC members also liked to slum it.

Members of the press covering Margaret Thatcher’s disastrous visit to Beijing and Hong Kong in 1982 flocked to the FCC, and it remained the meeting place for those covering the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.

It was also a vital base for those covering the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, their suppression and the Hong Kong response. Steve Knipp’s photograph of the crowds on one side of the Hong Kong Football Club’s wall and the members sunning themselves on the other remains one of the most telling images of those sadly unforgettable days. It can still be seen on the pillar at the eastern end of the bar.

The club has always made a point of being well equipped with the hardware of news delivery, but throughout the 1980s and during the early 1990s it looked rather different to the technology we have today.

In the Main Bar, by the noticeboard where the computer monitors now stand, lurked a rank of teleprinters; and the basement, which then as now accommodated a workroom, was home to a broadcast telephone booth.

In those days the club had many more regular telephones and they were actually used for making calls rather than just standing next to while taking or making one with a mobile. Members were paged frequently – in some cases, it was suspected, by prior arrangement with their offices, to make them look busy.

A popular leisure facility in the basement during the 1980s also seen off by technological progress was the videotape lending library.

Of course, the big Hong Kong story for the 1990s was the run-up to the Handover, and the FCC was at the heart of things. For most of June 1997 the Main Bar was packed every night with the world’s highest profile foreign correspondents – and quite a few other famous faces besides.

Satirist PJ O’Rourke, who died earlier this year, was a ubiquitous presence, graciously signing books, addressing a club lunch and generally hanging out.

On one evening, former president Steven Vines was to be seen seated at the bar explaining to an apparently uncomprehending Jeremy Irons what a foreign correspondent’s job involved. Irons was taking the lead role in Chinese Box, a Wayne Wang film that naturally included scenes shot in the Main Bar.

On the actual night of the Handover, for those unable to stand in the rain outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, there’s not much doubt that the FCC’s Handover party was the place to be.

The late 1990s saw the beginning of the most radical refurbishment job on the premises since the original North Block was converted for club use in 1982.

The first phases, instituted under president Hans Vriens, were relatively uncontroversial, although not everybody liked the reconfiguration of the Dining Room. But it was generally agreed that the club’s upper and basement levels were looking tired and needed some attention, and Bert’s jazz bar and the new workroom quickly became popular and well used facilities.

Under musical director Allen Youngblood, Bert’s has also made a notable contribution to the cultural life of Hong Kong, providing work and an opportunity to play original music for just about all the city’s noteworthy jazz musicians and quite a few artists in other genres.

On a slight tangent, the regularly changing photographic exhibitions on the Van Es Wall of the Main Bar can be viewed by members of the public, during designated hours, and under normal circumstances attract a healthy and curious crowd of art lovers – a few of whom are probably as curious about the famous bar itself as about the images on show.

The radical renovation of the Main Bar in the early 00s was the last of the major refurbishments – and not surprisingly the most controversial. Under president Thomas Crampton, refurbishment zeal was running at a high pitch, while more conservatively minded members felt equally strongly that the original design had nothing wrong with it and would have much preferred work restricted to such structural repairs as were necessary.

There were confrontations. I was out of town and missed most of them – coincidentally, on the day the wreckers moved in, I was having lunch in Paris with two ex-presidents, Keith Richburg and John Giannini. I’m not sorry I missed the unpleasantness.

I can’t honestly say I have anything like the affection for the new bar that I had for the old, but it still seems to impress visitors, and I’ve never introduced anybody to it who didn’t like it. Chacun à son goût.

Of all the services the FCC supplies to the community, perhaps the most vaunted is our speaker programme, which over the years has featured an extraordinary range of extraordinary people…

[The text ends here, although the rough notes below include the following anonymous quote, which the author may well have intended to use in his final paragraph: “The presence of the FCC and individual correspondents among us adds to the cosmopolitan character of Hong Kong, and enriches the quality of our mass media.”]

Members Movements: April 2022

We bid adieu to some, and welcome aboard to a whole bunch of others.

New Members

Correspondents

Chen Hangyu, Video Producer, TIME
Kim Soo-jin, Associate Audience Engagement Editor, TIME
Natalie Koh, Managing Editor of Asian Investor, Haymarket
Filipe Pacheco, Reporter, Bloomberg

Journalist

Ho Man-kit, Programme Host and Producer, Metro Broadcast Corporation

Associates

Richard M. Arndt, Vice President, Toll Global Forwarding
Francesca Biroli, Legal Assistant, de Bedin & Lee
Cheung Kwong-kei, Director of Communications, International Federation Against Copyright Theft (Greater China)
Angela Cheung Wong Wan-yiu, Vice President, UNESCO Hong Kong Association
Karen Choi Hiu-yan, Barrister-at-Law, Anthony Rogers Chambers
Chow Wai-ling, Retired
Peter Crewe, Managing Director, Ziffa Group
Damen Holmes, Solicitor, Lee Law Firm
Samantha Hon Wai-man, Managing Director, UBS
Jacky Lam, Assistant Secretary, HAB
Christopher Lawrence, Founder & Lead Counsellor, Perspection
Wolfgang Peck, Global and APAC Head of Operational and Resilience Risk for Insurance, HSBC
Winnie Pun, Managing Director, Blackrock Asset Management North Asia
Dominic Alexander Rigby, Finance Director, MVision
Dinesh Arjan Sadhwani, Lecturer (Center for Language Education), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Joost Schokkenbroek, Museum Director, Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Vivian Sheng Yin-nam, Retired
Colin Symmonds, CEO & Physiotherapist, Joint Dynamics
Mariana Tong Sui-luk, Retired
Kenneth Tsang, Engineer, Pyrofoe Engineers
Devika Virmani, Founder & Managing Partner, Adira
Kimberly Fayet Whiley, Owner, Tamco Holdings
Amy Wong, Co-Founder & CEO, 212 Studio
Wong Hiu-yan, Head of Account Servicing, Partner, Stepworks
Kelvin Yeung, Fixed Income Director, Rays Capital Partners
Yip Wing-hang, Founding Chairman, International Chamber of Sustainable Development
Susan Sandra Caroline Yung, Managing Director, Macey & Sons

Diplomatic

Rachel Brunette-Chen, Diplomat, Consulate General of the United States of America
Edward Green, Army Liaison Officer, Consulate General of the United States of America
Cody W. Swyer, Diplomat, Consulate General of the United States of America

Membership Replacements

Corporate

Cheung Wing-cheung, Chief Communication Officer, Airport Authority
Marko Jelicic, Senior Manager, Communications & Advocacy, BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters
Angela Kung Mei-yan, Senior Director, Hill and Knowlton Asia

Diplomatic

Girouard Benoit, Consul, Consulate General of Canada
Kenichi Okada , Consul-General (Ambassador), Consulate General of Japan in Hong Kong
Stefanie Seedig, Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany

Absent

Correspondents

Jamil Edmond Anderlini, Asia Editor, Financial Times
Jeremy Andre, Correspondent, Le Point
Dominique Boulet, Commentator, Asian Tour Media
Emma Clark, Editor, APF
James Hossack, Editor, AFP
Sian Powell, Journalist, The Australian
Parameshwaran Ravindranathan, Freelance
Bernhard Zand, Correspondent, Der Spiegel

Journalist

Chadwick Bray, Business Reporter, SCMP

Associates

Laura Acres, Managing Director, Moody’s Investors Service
Simon Blade, Managing Director, Baker Tilly Purser Blade Asia
Peter Brown, Captain, Cathay Pacific Airways
Daniel Browne , Executive Director, Conduit Securities
Peter Caplowe, Managing Director, Trendford
David Cave, President & Owner, Dragon-I Toys
Nicolas Chan Chi-shing, Executive Director, Trusted Financial Advisory Services
Maxwell Chen Pang-yen, Senior Director, Standard Chartered Private Bank
Christopher Chu, Fund Manager, UBS Asset Management
Allyn Reza Cockrell, Director, Pacific Tiger Group
Tariq Dennison, Investment Specialist, Retirement Plans, GFM Group
Polly Hui Fung-yi, Trainee Solicitor, Howse Williams Bowers
Justin Li Chun-hin
Rodney Lloyd, Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Niall MacDonald, Partner, Options Group
Brian McCullough, Managing Director, Palmyra Point
Gavin McDougall, Director, Public Affairs, Australian Consulate-General Hong Kong
Marta Obando, Retired
Andrew Perrett, CEO, Elkington
Andrew Powner, Partner, Haldanes Solicitors
David Roberts, Chairman & CEO, DPR Consultants Ltd
James Sweeney, Chief Operating Officer, Tor Investment Management
Michael Tomordy, Managing Director , Engage Asia
Maria Valiente, Managing Director, Evercore Asia
Paul Westover , Partner, Stephenson Harwood
Monique Wong Man-heng, Senior Business Development Manager, JA Asia Pacific

Resigned

Correspondents

Vincent Amalvy, Asia Pacific Photo Director, AFP
Michael Allen, Editor, Cirium
Suhas Bhat, Copywriter, Hill + Knowlton Strategies
Caroline Carter, Deputy Asia News Editor, The Economist
Sarah Clarke, Correspondent , Al Jazeera
Phred Dvorak, Senior Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Nicholas Killham, Managing Editor, Bloomberg
Bennett Marcus, Freelance
Daniel Symmonds, Field Engineer, CNN
Lisa Yuriko Thomas, Editorial, TicToc by Bloomberg
Wong Sue-lin, Correspondent, The Economist

Associates

Jyotee Bonomally, Self-employed
Michael Chan Wai-kwong, Self-employed
Sherman Chan Kar-nang, Consultant, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Roger Gillan, Principal, Concilium Advisory
Andrew Robin Alexander Haskins, Executive Director, Research & Advisory Service, Colliers International
Phyllis May Hui Chee-man, Trainee Solicitor, PC Woo & Co
David Kwan Wing-tai, Self-employed
Lawrence Leung, Director, South Sea Pearl Consortium
Natasha Marks, Architect, Aedas Architects
John Miller, Self-Employed
Kevin Rosich, Director, Operation, Bestford
Alexander Yiu Yau-tak, Group Finance Manager, Wo Kee Hong Group

Reactivated

Journalist

Stuart Heaver, Freelance Journalist and Writer, Stuart Heaver Media

Associates

Peter Barrett, Retired
David Fung Pui-fun, Retired
Daniel Michael Leo Inman, Managing Director, Vermilion
Michel Jospe, Managing Director, Methong Plastics (H.K.)
Philip Krichilsky, Director, Innovative Directions
Jessica Law Pik-lin, Retired
Yvonne Tsang Yee-wan, Designated Migration Officer, Consulate General of Canada, Hong Kong

Category Changes

Correspondent to Associate

Daniel Michael Leo Inman, Managing Director, Vermilion
Adam Martin, Senior Communications Manager, Herbert Smith Freehills

Honorary to Honorary Widow

Gillian Johnston, Retired

Deaths

We regret to announce the deaths of:

Vincent Connor
Christopher Hunter

Introducing the FCC’s New Members: April 2022

A retired prison superintendent who’s taken up cooking; the former pilot who’s turned to counselling; the veteran man-at-arms; plus 16 others who make up the rich tapestry of FCC membership.

RICHARD ARNDT

I am vice president, trade lane, for Toll Global Forwarding Asia, which is part of the Japan Post. I have been living in Hong Kong for more than three-and-a-half years and have enjoyed my time here. Prior to moving to Asia, I lived in Los Angeles, California, for many years. My interests range from travel, hiking, biking and scuba diving to reading books. I have two adult sons who currently reside in the USA.

FRANCESCA BIROLI

I was born and raised in Italy, where I studied law at university. I moved to Hong Kong eight years ago and consider it my home. I have been working at the law firm de Bedin & Lee since I moved here.

CHEUNG KWONG-KEI

I was behind bars for over 30 years – as the head of Hong Kong’s major prisons – including Stanley, Lai Chi Kok and Siu Lam. Early retirement from this role granted time to pursue my interests, like volunteering, travelling and photography. My new hobby of cooking also gives me a great sense of achievement. My work taught me about security management and dealing with people from all walks of life, and I am currently the director of communications of an international federation that works against copyright theft. Having been away from life behind bars for years now, I look forward to being inside bars again – this time at the FCC.

ANGELA CHEUNG WONG WAN-YIU

I am an educator. My interest is in education, education policy formulation and administration, organising functions and education conferences. Now in retirement, I still hold the roles of vice president of the UNESCO Hong Kong Association; school manager at the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group Lee Shau Kee College; and member of the fundraising committee at St Stephen’s Girls’ College. Until my retirement, I worked in the education sector. I was vice-principal and acting principal at St Stephen’s Girls’ College, then became the education services secretary of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. In the 1980s, I was invited by the government to become a member of the Education Commission. My hobbies are photography, music, reading and writing.

PETER CREWE

I am of Irish heritage and was born in the UK. I moved to Hong Kong in 1998. I have also lived and worked in Brunei, Indonesia and Australia. After 32 years on the corporate side of the insurance industry, I retired and set up my own small company for angel investing, consultancy, board advisory and independent non-executive director services. Hong Kong is my home – I love its diversity and energy. Food and wine are a passion, history a life-long interest and digital a learning curve – plus I’m a supporter of my hometown football club, Aston Villa.

EDWARD GREEN

I have served in the United States military for more than 17 years, performing long tours in Iraq and Korea, and have travelled and lived in many parts of east Asia, including a year in Taiwan. I hold a master’s degree in Chinese studies and speak both Mandarin and Korean. My wife, Jessica, and our five children have joined me in Hong Kong, where I am the Army Liaison Officer at the US Consulate. My hobbies include skiing, hiking, mountain biking and motorcycle riding.

DAMEN HOLMES

I am a Eurasian who was born in Hong Kong and am fluent in Cantonese. Sentenced to boarding school in Tasmania at the age of nine, I also went to university there. I became a solicitor in 2009 and practiced law in Melbourne. I was paroled back to Hong Kong in 2016 and am still a solicitor, specialising in commercial litigation. I am a lover of all sports, especially cricket, having proudly represented Hong Kong. But as time has gone on, my bowling averages have gone up and my batting averages down.

NATALIE KOH

I have been in Hong Kong for about four years, mostly with the South China Morning Post as a digital producer and news editor. Now, I work at Haymarket, leading the AsianInvestor editorial team as their managing editor. In my 10-year career, I’ve been tasked with helping editorial teams adapt to a digital-first world, by integrating data analytics into news flows and introducing digital best practices to news teams. I also work to improve gender representation in workplaces. In 2018, I led the winning team at the SCMP hackathon with a strategy to improve the representation of women in our coverage. The idea was adapted into the project known as Lunar Today.

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE

Starting work in Hong Kong on 8 August 1988 proved to be auspicious. I joined Cathay Pacific as a pilot after working at the now-defunct British Caledonian, and British Airways. It was an adventure in those days. I was a pilot for 47 years and recently retired. Over 20 years ago, I began an interest in mentoring, counselling and supporting those who may find their particular circumstances challenging. I obtained several qualifications and a Master’s in counselling at Monash University. With a desire to improve the standards and support of the counselling community, I formed the counselling practice Perspection, with a team of eight counsellors.

FILIPE PACHECO

I arrived in Hong Kong in August 2021 to cover Asian equity capital markets for Bloomberg News. Many asked me why, as a journalist, I would move to the city at a time when many are deciding to leave. My answer: I want to see a place in transition with my own eyes, and report on it. My journalistic carrier started in my hometown of São Paulo, Brazil, 15 years ago. From there I relocated to Dubai for five years to cover emerging markets within Europe, Middle East and Africa. I’m hoping Hong Kong will soon allow normal travel again – I am ready to explore the region. In the meantime, I’m trying to discover hikes, distant beaches and quiet neighbourhoods across the territory.

WINNIE PUN

I started my career as an auditor, became a portfolio manager, and moved on to sales before taking on a role heading up public policy for Asia-Pacific at BlackRock. As my job exposes me to a lot of policy debate, I am particularly interested in the talks hosted by the FCC. I lived in Australia for eight years before returning to Hong Kong in the 1990s. I love music and travelling, but the COVID-19 lockdowns in the last two years have driven me to explore many Hong Kong neighbourhoods that I had never visited before.

DOMINIC RIGBY

I came to Hong Kong from London in 2007 for a three-week secondment that was continually extended over a six-month period. Fifteen years later, I find myself still here, with the only regret of having not visited Asia sooner. The food, city lights, clash of cultures and lure of the hills and water in such close proximity have made it an easy decision to stay, along with the odd beer and glass of wine. I work as finance director for a small financial services firm. I am happiest on the trails or a bike – being an avid runner and cyclist.

JOOST SCHOKKENBROEK

I arrived in Hong Kong in late February 2021, leaving my wife and four adult children behind in the Netherlands, to helm the Hong Kong Maritime Museum at Pier 8 in Central. Previously, I held curatorial and managerial positions at the Kendall Whaling Museum in the US, the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Canada, combined with professorial positions at universities. The FCC is a great club, where three important Cs – congeniality, creativity, critical thinking – fuse. I like sports, hiking, reading and going to the movies.

COLIN SYMMONDS

I am the CEO of Joint Dynamics and a physiotherapist. I’ve worked in Africa and North America with many different patients and have also set up a women’s soap-making cooperative in South Africa. Joint Dynamics has grown from a team of four in 2013 to a firm with more than 50 healthcare professionals today, and I remain committed to serving Hong Kong and its community. I have special interests in back and neck injuries, especially chronic pain. I am currently retraining in all things related to mens’ health. Even at 57, I remain a keen video gamer, soap maker and power-lifter. I’m considering starting a new hobby as a silversmith.

KENNETH TSANG

I am a building services contractor. In my spare time, I like to read and write. I recently finished writing a memoir in Chinese about my teenage years spent in Vancouver, Canada. It brings me much joy to finish a piece of good writing. I also have a great passion for golf. My heroes in the sport are Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player – the legendary Big Three of golf – and Tiger Woods, who has electrified the game tremendously.

KIMBERLY WHILEY

I arrived in 1989 on a one-way ticket to attend the Chinese University of Hong Kong for my final year at university. After graduation, I quickly found a job in the manufacturing world and have been in the industry ever since. I started Tamco Holdings in 2004 but have embarked on many other ventures along the way, like writing The Hong Kong and Macau Taxi Guide and consulting with groups who needed my network on projects while still running my core business. My passion is to help women entrepreneurs understand what is needed to scale and exit their businesses. With the help of others, I co-founded The Women Entrepreneurs Network, which focuses on these issues.

AMY WONG

I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I swam competitively as a kid and took weekly horse-riding lessons. In 2006, I continued my love for the outdoors and sports in Sydney, Australia, where I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in commerce. My life has transformed significantly in the past seven years. I was a risk analyst at Citibank before pursuing an EMBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. With over 10 years’ experience in technology and business operations, I am passionate about bridging the gap between technological leapfrogging and traditional business practices. In 2020, I co-founded a digital media agency here in Hong Kong. Outside of work, I am a part-time fitness instructor at Pure Fitness where I teach indoor cycling and TRX.

KELVIN YEUNG

I was born and raised in Hong Kong and have been a fixed income fund manager for over 15 years. I care about my home city as well as my alma mater, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I have been active in alumni affairs there since 2009 and was elected the chairperson of the CUHK Convocation in 2021. I believe our community interest can be best served by permitting free expression of views and academic freedom.

ANGUS YIP

I have been working in banking and asset management fields for more than 30 years, though I am not a money-minded person – I am just making a living. Over the past 10 years, I have tried very hard to find my real passion. Luckily, I found it in sustainability, which is the theme of the second chapter of my life. I studied for a degree in the field and set up an NGO. Lifelong learning is my philosophy – the fire of curiosity still burns in my heart. I am blessed to have a supportive wife and two lovely daughters.

The Correspondent, April – June 2022

Get to Know the Stories Behind the FCC’s Various Rooms

It’s perhaps just as well that the FCC’s walls can’t talk, but there’s a great tale attached to many of its rooms, says Robin Lynam.

Extraordinary though this may seem, back in 1991, when FCC President Peter Seidlitz suggested turning a corner of the Main Bar into an enclosed non-smoking area, the proposal was considered controversial.

To discourage opposition, Peter suggested that it be called the “Clare Hollingworth Room”. Who could then object?

Clare did. At 80 years old, she pointed out that she was still alive and did not yet want a memorial. The space went unnamed – sort of. Everybody called it the “Führerbunker”. After Peter died, aged 64 in 2012, it was officially renamed the “Peter Seidlitz Bunker”. He would have liked that.

Peter, a flamboyant, capable, and very well-connected journalist – also a noted art collector – was described in one obituary as the “Giorgio Armani of foreign correspondents”. He is also one of a select few FCC members to have had a club space named after him.

The first was Richard Hughes, whose photograph hangs in the Hughes Room and in the Main Bar, where his sculpted head still greets visitors. He died in 1984 at the age of 81.

A foreign correspondent of distinction who made his name in the 1930s reporting from Japan, Richard was probably also an intelligence agent – perhaps even a double. Though disputed, that might explain his 1956 scoop – interviewing British defectors Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean in Moscow, whence they had fled in 1951.

He appears in fiction as Dikko Henderson in Ian Fleming’s 007 yarn You Only Live Twice, and as Old Craw in The Honourable Schoolboy, whose opening chapter John le Carré set in the FCC’s Sutherland House premises near Statue Square, which we quit in 1982 for our present location.

Adjoining the Hughes Room – and sharing its role as a pop-up Chinese restaurant – the Burton Room is named for Sandra Burton, another distinguished journalist, but of a very different stamp.

One of TIME magazine’s first female correspondents, she is perhaps best known for her coverage of the 1983 assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr in the Philippines and of the 1986 People Power revolution which followed. She was also, characteristically, in the thick of things in 1989 in Tiananmen Square.

Sandra died tragically early at 62 in 2004, a gifted and accomplished journalist, who was universally admired for her professionalism and integrity.

UPI correspondent – and another FCC President – Bert Okuley, died in 1993 aged 58. He was a fine editor who probably could have made another career as a jazz musician, hence the name of the club’s cellar bar and jazz club.

A photograph in Bert’s shows him with fellow pianist Larry Allen, who on Saturday evenings during the 1990s used to play and sing in the Main Bar. In the photo, Bert can be seen declining an invitation from Larry, who knew how good Bert was, to take over his seat.

I occasionally joined Bert at the bar where he often studied horse racing form, and I wish I’d taken some tips. He gave good ones – such as this from 1975 to a UPI photographer in Saigon: “Van Es,” he shouted into a darkroom, “Get out here. There’s a chopper on that roof!”

The photo exhibit wall at the rear of the Main Bar is named after Hugh Van Es. He did not consider that helicopter photograph his best, and there are many finer ones from a career which ranged from shooting 1960s pop stars in Europe to the 1979 Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

The wall is an appropriate choice of memorial for Hugh, who died in 2009 at 67. He was a connoisseur of good photography, generous with advice and encouragement to less experienced fellow professionals, and to amateur snappers. He was also an FCC President, a long-serving and valuable board member, and for several years, the custodian of the club’s liquor licence.

Virupax Ganesh “VG” Kulkarni – whose name adorns the Workroom – was also a senior FCC Board member. He started his professional life as an officer in the Indian army, before transferring to the diplomatic corps, and finally settled on journalism, most notably at the Far Eastern Economic Review where he became Regional Editor.

Later he pursued a freelance career. The club was his second home, and he was a frequent genial presence in the Workroom. He died – in the Health Club sauna – in 2014 at the age of 77.

Notwithstanding Peter Seidlitz’s offer to Clare Hollingworth, the honour of having an FCC space named after you has only ever been awarded posthumously.

Now Clare, too, has her corner. After she closed her last bar bill – in 2017 at the age of 105 – the club mounted a photo of her in the Bunker over what was for many years unofficially, but entirely inflexibly, her table. Whoever sits at it today, so it remains.

Introducing the FCC’s New Members: February 2022

A Swede, a South African, a Kiwi, a Russian, a Yorkshireman, un Français, several Chinese and assorted others walk into a bar…

Asa Atting

This is the third time my husband Fredrik and I have lived in Hong Kong. Each time we left, we sensed that we would move back. Hong Kong is a very special place for our family. Originally from Sweden, we have lived in Hong Kong and Germany for the last 16 years. I have worked as an IT consultant for international companies and have always relished meeting people from all walks of life. I enjoy the Hong Kong outdoors and can’t wait until we can travel freely again so that I can visit my children who go to university in Canada. I love the diverse and international atmosphere at the FCC.

Vincent Chow

I’m Hong Kong-born, UK-raised. In 2019, after many years away from my birthplace, I decided to return to Hong Kong to start my journalism career as a legal reporter. Since then my interest in China has only increased, although covering the country has become more difficult for foreign journalists. I recently switched to freelancing to allow me to pursue my other passion: travelling. I hope to have a career that allows me to write and travel as much as possible – starting in Taiwan next year where I’ll be studying Mandarin. I’m a massive Arsenal and Andy Murray fan.

Marc Allan Cormack-Bissett

Friends call me gregarious, and I have a love of food, travel and exploration. I’m British by birth but identify as South African having emigrated at six months old. I met my (now) husband in our uni days and we moved to London in the early 2000s where I qualified as a chartered accountant. In late 2018, I was seconded to Hong Kong and immediately fell for the city’s charm. I was joined by my husband and cats (Gin & Tonic) a year later. I’m a director and head of company secretarial services for Law Debenture Corporation.

Neil Donovan

I moved to this fascinating city in 2018 after stints in Portugal, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan, and am joined at the FCC by my wife Veronica, a Venezuelan from Caracas. I hail from Yorkshire in England. We enjoy dragon boating, scuba diving, hiking, golf and football, and have our own website documenting our travel experiences and showcasing our small philanthropic photography and sustainable fashion businesses. When we’re not dreaming of travelling or focusing on our creative projects, I work as the Head of English Department in an international school, and Veronica works as a relocation consultant and a realtor.

Kunal J Gokal

Originally from New Zealand, I’ve spent most of my life in Hong Kong. I now work as a relationship manager at a global private bank having spent a short stint in the luxury goods industry. I find joy in meeting new people, building relationships and learning from others. I’m driven by new experiences, having climbed Mount Kinabalu, bungeed above a lake in New Zealand, backpacked around Croatia, and explored Europe by road. I’m itching to travel again in a post-COVID-19, quarantine-free world. As a third-generation member from my family, I’m thrilled to be joining the club.

Anastasia Gordeeva

Some random information: I have a Russian accent. It may sound like appropriation, but just like the FCC’s president, I love Malbec, and not just in the evening. My profile picture was taken by my colleague, Nikolai Likhopoi, and it doesn’t matter whether I like it or not – it’s amazing. What am I doing in China? Ask my father and please let me know. I hope that one day Elon Musk and I will fly to Mars from the Baikonur cosmodrome where I was born. I still don’t know who I want to be when I grow up.

Herve Guinebert

I’ve been living and working in Hong Kong for almost eight years, and despite some un-encouraging beginnings, it’s hard not to fall in love with this unique place, with its Chinese influence and British heritage. It has one of the most beautiful skylines in the world, while sandy beaches, rocky shores, coastlines, reservoirs, woodlands, mountain ranges, and a variety of scenic vistas make up the majority of the Island. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: “Hong Kong is the most imperfect place I have ever lived, except for all the others.”

Nick Jones

I’m originally from the UK, but my wife, Hanh, and I have called Hong Kong home for almost four years. I currently lead video production for Morning Studio, the South China Morning Post’s branded content arm, making short documentaries on a range of topics, from local artists to business leaders. In my spare time, I can often be found roaming the streets looking for stories for my own documentary projects or doing a bit of photography.

Arthur Koeman

As a Dutch trader I arrived in Hong Kong in 1980, and am still here four decades later. I retired in 2015 and now share my time with my wife Annett, and my hobbies of squash (body permitting) and painting. My exhibitions are mainly held at the Fringe Club next door to the FCC. My retirement didn’t last very long. With the mainstream media hell-bent on presenting negative news, I realised the world was in need of something positive. To overcome this doom and gloom I brought together a team of experienced journalists to launch Happy-Ali.com, which publishes seriously happy global news.

Anthea Lai

Born and raised in Hong Kong, I came back to the city after graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and working in New York. My time spent in the US cultivated my interest in diversity. I have spent nearly 20 years working in finance, and believe women can provide different perspectives on all areas of life. As a mother of two, I am also keen on nurturing the next generation of women via allyship and support. I love travelling, trying out exotic food and shopping for local specialties.

Li Man Ying

I was born in Hong Kong and have practiced as an architect both here and overseas for more than 40 years, which often required travelling around various parts of the world. It is a great pleasure for me to join the club to share a lot of experiences and visions from other members.

Toby Littlewood

I was born in Cyprus and spent my childhood in Yemen and London. After a Chinese studies degree, my career in HR and communications with BP, and later Lafarge, was based mainly in Asia with 26 years in Beijing and Guangzhou. Apart from expanding regional operations, I also dealt with offshore gas blow-outs, shipping collisions and the devastating Aceh tsunami. I now work as an executive coach. My first Hong Kong experience was as a student intern, helping the St Stephen’s Society rehabilitate heroin addicts from the Kowloon Walled City, where I also met my wife, Jing, then a volunteer interpreter.

Jerome Lizambard

I was born in France and after studying for a master’s in history in Paris, I embarked for Beijing in the 1990s to learn Chinese and try to understand who would rule the world next. After many jobs in China over two decades, I ended up back at the University of Hong Kong last year, courtesy of COVID-19 which blighted my career in luxury retail. I’m currently focused on the Pacific, the polar regions and geopolitics.

Charlotte Mason

I joined AFP in 2018 after graduating from Leeds University and then l’Institut Français de Presse in Paris. I landed in Hong Kong in March 2021 to join the agency’s Asia-Pacific team as a fact-checking editor, tackling misinformation across the region. Originally from the Peak District in England, I am enjoying discovering the city, especially learning Cantonese, hiking and consuming any amount of egg waffles.

Justin Peter McMahon

After a career in hospitality management in Australia I completed a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in banking, finance and risk management. I relocated to Hong Kong 15 years ago with two suitcases and the hope of finding a home in this fantastic, inspiring city which has since given me both my wife and a career. I am now a partner at Village Insurance Brokers, which focuses on expats. I enjoy weightlifting, boxing, yoga, hiking and living the dream and am an active member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Insurers Club.

Bhagwan Benny Daulatram Ratnani

I settled in Hong Kong over five decades ago. I started my own trading business with the Middle East and India as the main markets when I was 29 years old after working here and in the US for a year. I have two offices in Guangzhou, and prior to the pandemic, I frequently travelled to Dubai where most of my clients are based. I am also a property investor and have been a Rotary Club member (and past vice president) for the past 35 years. I’m excited to join the FCC.

John Riley

In the course of a long career in government service, I have completed two separate postings in Seoul and another in London where I chaired the Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club. I grew up in Auckland and have a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Auckland. I have affiliations to the Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri tribes from the northern tip of New Zealand and speak Māori (and Korean) fluently.

Pooja Sawhney

A company secretary by profession, I came from India back in 1997 shortly after the Handover. Ever since Hong Kong has been home to me, my husband and our two daughters. I love the tremendous vibrancy of Hong Kong and how its adventures never cease. It keeps the element of wonderment alive with its beautiful outdoors and vast variety of cuisines. I like the FCC, its atmosphere, the events it hosts and its fantastic mix of Old and New World wines.

Peter Cookson Smith

I arrived in Hong Kong in September 1976 and, within a year, set up URBIS, the first company in the territory specialising in city planning, urban design, environment and landscape. We cut our teeth on the New Towns programme and have since carried out many projects across China and Southeast Asia. In associated areas I have been a Professor of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong and an Adjunct Professor at Chinese University. Although technically retired, I continue to occupy a quiet corner of the URBIS office through the forbearance of long-standing friends and colleagues.

Ambar Taneja

I am an entrepreneur, and manage Hong Kong’s only India-dedicated equities fund: The Vachi India Equity Fund. I have been a Hong Kong resident since 2012 and previously worked as a private banker and fund manager. I have a master’s degree in Public Affairs from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delhi. I’m passionate about the guitar, which I have been playing for 30-plus years, and am now starting to write original music.

Ray Tsang Heung Tak

I am a lawyer by training. My favourite fictional lawyer is Horace Rumpole. I love reading and am something of a bibliophile. I enjoy the works of Somerset Maugham, George Orwell (especially his essays and journalism), Bertrand Russell, and the local writer Chua Lam. I play golf recreationally. My handicap fluctuates between 18 and 25. I am a diehard Tiger Woods fan. I smoke cigars on a daily basis. My favourite hangouts are bookstores, cigar lounges and the FCC.

Ginny Wilmerding

I first lived in Hong Kong in 1991, straight out of university with a degree in East Asian studies. My first employer, Hutchison Whampoa, sent me to Shanghai to work on its container port joint venture. I met my American husband, Alex, there; he worked for Swire/Dragonair. We headed back to the US in 1996, but returned to Hong Kong in 2008. Since 2010 I’ve worked in financial communications, first for Brunswick and now with Finsbury Glover Hering. My twin sister was a Wall Street Journal reporter for 14 years. I’ve always loved the FCC and am thrilled to join.