Happy New Year to our readers! As we start the year and approach the coming of the Year of the Snake, AmCham saw the inauguration of a new Chairman, David Butts of Techtronic Industries, for 2025. You can read more about David and his vision and intention for AmCham Hong Kong in the cover story of this issue.
You will find that AmCham “has not missed a beat” through the holiday season. Since the last issue of the e-Magazine was published in mid-November, we had a Doorknock to Beijing by senior members of the Chamber where we exchanged views on Hong Kong, a Thanksgiving luncheon where we expressed appreciation to HKSAR officials who supported AmCham in 2024, and an AmCham Charitable Foundation fundraiser at Crown Wine Cellars in December that raised significant funding for the Hong Kong community. Of course, there was a change of leadership at the AGM in late November where six new members of the Board of Governors were elected and the new Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Treasurer confirmed. (See cover story for more information.) Finally, the latest AmCham Business Sentiment Survey took place in the past two months, with results to be announced at the end of January.
What the new Chairman said in his Inaugural Luncheon on January 14 is that AmCham is more important than ever to its members and other stakeholders, when the economy of Hong Kong and the region is still recovering, and when the geopolitical vise is ever tightening. The Chamber realizes that now is the time we can provide guardrails for business as they fight to survive in this volatile environment, as well a boost for them to propel themselves forward. Our programs and events this year will be numerous, timely, and targeted for both macro understanding of the business and geopolitical environment and specific operational advice of best practices. The new Chairman emphasized that we will dedicate ourselves to providing more value to members, and to recruit more non-members into our community.
All of you can start the New Year by reading this issue of the e-magazine, where one of our member CEO’s, Walter Dias, is featured in an interview, plus a couple of think pieces on US-China economic relations—one featuring Elizabeth Economy, a former high ranking Biden Administration Commerce official, and the other featuring Craig Allen, who just stepped down from the presidency of US-China Business Council. You can also read about the run-up to the WOI award gala in mid-March and a profile of Felicity McRobb, a former WOI award winner. Please enjoy them and other very interesting articles on a variety of business issues. May I also wish you a Happy Chinese New Year!