Calvin Choi has been appointed as our chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer since February 2019, and has nearly 20 years of experience in the investment banking, international capital markets, and professional auditing sectors. Since February 2016, Mr. Choi has served as the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of AMTD Group. Since October 2016, Mr. Choi has been a non-executive director of Bank of Qingdao Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 3866 and SZSE: 002948), a company listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Mr. Choi worked at UBS from October 2010 to January 2016, his most recent role there being managing director of the investment bank division. From January 2009 to October 2010, Mr. Choi worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong, his most recent role there being director of corporate finance division. From July 2005 to December 2008, Mr. Choi worked at Citigroup, his most recent role there being China Chief Specialist and the head of China Strategic Alliance unit of Citi Corporate and Investment Bank. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Choi worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong and Arthur Andersen & Co. (Hong Kong), his most recent position there being senior manager. In 2017, he was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He was also selected by the Institutional Investor magazine as one of the ‘‘2016 Fintech Finance 35’’ globally in 2016. Mr. Choi currently holds various positions with a range of organizations, including vice chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, director of ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), founder and chairman of Greater Bay Young Entrepreneurs Association, founder and chairman of the Regional Banks+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance, founder and chairman of AMTD Foundation, honorary president of Hong Kong Army Cadets Association, vice president of Hong Kong Federation of Professions, and board director of OneChild Network & Support Inc. Mr. Choi also holds directorships in several privately owned companies. Mr. Choi is currently a certified bank auditor and a certified public accountant in the United States. Mr. Choi graduated from the University of Waterloo in Canada in June 2001 with a bachelor of arts degree, with honors, in chartered accountancy studies.

Marcellus Wong has been appointed as our vice chairman of the board of directors, chairman of the executive management committee, and member of the investment committee since February 2019, and has over 40 years of experience in accounting and taxation. Mr. Wong has been serving as the vice chairman of the board of directors of our Controlling Shareholder since October 2015. Mr. Wong holds a number of other positions including, since June 2015, independent non-executive director of SEHK-listed Xinte Energy Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 1799); since June 2012, senior advisor of PricewaterhouseCoopers; and, since November 2001, a member of the Joint Liaison Committee on Taxation that advises the government of Hong Kong on tax issues. Mr. Wong also holds directorships in several privately-owned companies. Meanwhile, Mr. Wong served as a council member of the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong from 1995 to 2017, president from 1996 to 1999, and has served as chairman of advisory board since 2017. He was the president of CPA Australia-Hong Kong China Division from 2004 to 2005 and has served as its honorary adviser of Greater China region since July 2014. Prior to joining our Controlling Shareholder, Mr. Wong served as a member of the Working Group on the Long-Term Fiscal Planning of the government of Hong Kong from June 2013 to January 2015. Mr. Wong joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in February 1990 and, prior to his retirement in June 2012, served as a partner and compliance leader in Hong Kong and China as well as risk and quality leader for its tax practice in the Asia Pacific region. From July 1977 to January 1990, Mr. Wong served as a tax assessor at the Inland Revenue Department of the government of Hong Kong. Between 1999 and 2012, Mr. Wong had been consistently named by Euromoney as one of the ‘‘world’s leading tax advisers’’ in Hong Kong and China. Mr. Wong graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic (currently known as The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) with a higher diploma in accountancy in October 1977, and also obtained a bachelor of laws degree through the external program from the University of London in the United Kingdom in August 1989. Mr. Wong was admitted as a fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants in December 1987, an associate of the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries in July 1996, a fellow of CPA Australia in October 2001, and a fellow of the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong in March 2004.

Philip Yau has been appointed as our director, chief financial officer, member of the executive management committee, member of the investment banking executive committee, and member of the investment committee since February 2019, and has over 22 years of experience in accounting, finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance audit, and risk management. Mr. Yau has served as the chief financial officer of AMTD Group since April 2016. From September 2011 to March 2016, he worked at Ernst & Young China Practice as a partner serving clients in Greater China, where he advised on finance, management, and business issues. From January 2006 to July 2011, he worked at Protiviti Shanghai Co., Ltd. serving clients in Greater China, and part of his tenure there as a managing director and Shenzhen office leader, where he was primarily responsible for overall management of the company. From 1997 to 2006, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen & Co., his most recent position being senior manager in the consulting practice. Mr. Yau also holds directorship in a privately-owned property investment company. Mr. Yau is a certified public accountant in the United States, a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and a certified internal auditor with the Institute of Internal Auditors. Mr. Yau graduated from the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business of University of Oregon in the United States with a bachelor of arts degree in June 1997. Mr. Yau completed the executive master of business administration program jointly organized by Northwestern University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in January 2019.

Yu Gao has been our independent director since March 2019. Mr. Gao has served as the director of AMTD Group since October 2014. Mr. Gao joined Morgan Stanley Asia Limited in August 2005 and primarily focuses on private equity investment transactions in China. He is currently a managing director and co-head of China investment operations for Morgan Stanley private equity Asia. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked in Citigroup’s Asia-Pacific investment banking division, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette’s debt capital markets group in New York. Mr. Gao has served as a non-executive director of SEHK-listed Sparkle Roll Group Limited (SEHK: 970) since September 2010. From July 2007 to May 2013, he was a non-executive director of SEHK-listed China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 3818) and has been an independent non-executive director since May 2013. Mr. Gao was a director of Shandong Buchang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SSE: 603858) from March 2012 to March 2018. From August 2006 to August 2014, he was a non-executive director of SEHK-listed Belle International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1880) and has been an independent non-executive director from August 2014 to July 2017. Mr. Gao was also a director of Tongkun Group Co., Ltd. (SSE: 601233), a company listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange, or SSE, from April 2011 to March 2015. Mr. Gao also holds directorships in several privately-owned companies. Mr. Gao received dual bachelor’s degrees in engineering and economic systems and operations research from Tsinghua University in China in July 1997 and a master of science degree in engineering-economic systems and operations research from Stanford University in the United States in June 1999.

Feridun Hamdullahpur has been our independent director since March 2019. Dr. Hamdullahpur has served as the director of AMTD Group since January 2019. Dr. Hamdullahpur has served as the sixth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo since 2010. Prior to that, he served as a vice-president academic and provost at the University of Waterloo from September 2009 to September 2010. Dr. Hamdullahpur has served as a member of the strategic advisory board of Sorbonne University since 2014, and member of the international advisory board of King Abdulaziz University since 2017. He has served as chair of the Waterloo Global Science Initiative since 2016. In 2015, Dr. Hamdullahpur was appointed chair of the Leadership Council for Digital Infrastructure in Canada. Dr. Hamdullahpur was named a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in July 2014. Dr. Hamdullahpur was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in January 2013 in acknowledgement of his leadership in education and innovation. Dr. Hamdullahpur graduated from the Technical University of Nova Scotia with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1976 and a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Istanbul Technical University in 1979. Dr. Hamdullahpur received his Ph.D. degree in chemical engineer from the Technical University of Nova Scotia 1985.