commitment to the University

and its alumni.

Western University has an

updated Chinese name: “加拿

大韋仕敦大學“– a big thank

you to our Advisory Board

for their expertise and guid-

ance, another step in Western

University’s global focus.

Spring Dinner… a tradi-

tional “Poon Choi” meal in a

village in the outskirts of HK,

we had over 100 attendees.

Don’t miss this year’s on

March 10th!

Western Golf Clinic – once

again hosted by Mission Hills,

we had an incredible time

with their professional in-

structors. A big thank you to

Dr. Ken Chu, BACS’96,

LLD’07 for his support.

This year, we will be focused

on two initiatives, and we

hope they will provide you

with opportunities to partici-

Dear Alumni and friends,

Happy New Year! I wish

you the very best in 2013.

At the AGM held last De-

cember at the HK Brew-

house, the new executive

committee for this year was

voted in. I would like to

introduce to you our new

Executive team…

Deputy President:

Nathan Ho, BA’08

VP Event Management:

Juliana Shek, BA’04

VP Event Management:

Michael Leung, BSc’05,

MEng’06

VP External:

Manshun Chan, HBA’10

VP External:

Shou Zhang, HBA’10

Alma Mater and Alumni

Relations: Vivian Tsang,

BACS’06

Alma Mater and Alumni

Relations:

Kant Chong, BA’03 King’s

Treasurer:

Angela Ho, BA’00

Executives:

Bowie Sie To, BA’04 King’s,

Cobretti Pang, BA’98, Elio

Cheung, BA’04 King’s, Eugene

Chan, BMOS’11, Irene

Lynnpheu, HBA’10, Kelly Shi

BA’09, Louise Yang, BMOS’11,

Simon Yu, BMOS’11.

Just looking at the events and

preparation work last year for

Hong Kong Branch’s new

direction and for regional

expansion, I’m very proud of

what the association has

achieved. That would not

have been possible without

your involvement with us –

and we look forward to go

from strength to strength this

year! Among the highlights

that we should be proud of…

Winning the “Spirit of

Western Award” from the

School – recognizing us for

embodying the Spirit of West-

ern through our volunteer

MESSAGE FROM THE HONG KONG BRANCH PRESIDENT

BRANCHES IN ASIA

Singapore Branch

President:

Alex Chin, BA’81

Executives:

Chet Choon Woon, MBA’94

Kellog Ng, BACS’04

Jerry Chung, HBA’10

Korea Branch

President:

Luke Shim, BA’95

Executives :

Pio Kim, BA’02

Eugene Song, BACS’98

Yoo Kyungmin, BA’03

Shin Youngsuk, BA’03

Ahn Tae Kyu

Sandra Yoon, BMOS’06

June Kang, BA’94

Shanghai Branch

Brian Chen, BMOS’06

Colin Bogar, MBA’08

Amy Bi, BSc’07

Hong Kong Branch President

Kenyon Tse, HBA’04

The Purple Connection

Alumni Western Asia—Regional Newsletter

THE PURPLE CONNECTION

2013 WINTER ISSUE

pate in something a bit different

in this very busy city of Hong

Kong.

Volunteer Committee: we

will be seeking for opportunities

to participate in some unique

volunteer activities as a team

Sports Committee: to encour-

age a more active lifestyle for

alumni, we will be renting out

various sports facilities to host

sports nights

As usual, We will make sure to

include your thoughts in our

plans for this year.

I look forward to seeing you at

future events

Best,

Kenyon Tse, HBA’04

President – Alumni Western HK

Shenzhen Branch

Christine Wu, BA’02

Beijing Branch

Philip Chow, BA’09, BA’11

Australia Branch

James Wong, HBA/BACS’03,

MBA’08

Forty-four undergraduates

and post-graduates represent-

ing seven faculties and affili-

ated colleges celebrated the

culmination of their time at

Western as the university

held its eighth annual Hong

Kong convocation ceremony

on Sunday, May 27, 2012, in

the Chancellor Room of the

Hong Kong Convention and

Exhibition Centre.

Amit Chakma, Western Presi-

dent; Janice Deakin, Provost

a n d V i c e - P r e s i d e n t

(Academic); and Deans Brian

Timney, Faculty of Social Sci-

ence, and Carol Stephenson,

Richard Ivey School of Busi-

ness, joined more than 350

guests at the event – including

Faculty of Science graduate In-

ting Ho, who welcomed 19

family members to see him

graduate.

Since 2001, Ivey celebrates an

annual convocation for its

post-graduates at the Hong

Kong campus. From 2005

onwards, that convocation

was expanded to include all

Western faculties and affili-

ates. The university now cele-

brates a full Hong Kong con-

vocation annually, attracting a

steady increase of Western

graduates to the occasion

every year.

Dr. John Cheh, Esquel Group

Vice-Chair and CEO, received

an honorary degree at the

occasion.

Department of External Af-

fairs and International Trade,

serving in senior diplomatic

positions at Beijing, Seoul and

Tokyo.

After moving to Hong Kong in

1994, Dr. Cheh has since

served as the President (Asia)

of Bell Canada International,

the President of Bombardier

China., and now leading the

world’s biggest shirt maker.

Considered a pioneer in

terms of corporate social

responsibility and employing

Dr. John Cheh, an interna-

tionally recognized expert in

trade, economics and labour

issues, was named Vice-Chair

and CEO of Esquel Group in

2007.

Graduated with a Bachelor

Degree in Economics and

Political Science from McGill

University and a Ph.D. in Eco-

nomics from the Massachu-

setts Institute of Technology,

Dr. Cheh joined the Canadian

Government and worked for

the Treasury Board and Privy

Council Office and later for

environmentally friendly tech-

nology, the Esquel Group

manufactures over 100 million

cotton shirts annually for

brands like Polo Ralph Lauren,

Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Hugo

Boss and Lacoste.

WESTERN UNIVERSITY 299TH HONG KONG CONVOCATION

HONORARY DEGREE RECI PIENT—DR. JOHN CHEH

Page 2

THE PURPLE CONNECTIO N

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Led by Janice Deakin, Provost

a n d V i c e - P r e s i d e n t

(Academic), Western’s dele-

gation including a number of

deans and senior staff trav-

elled to various cities in China

this past April and November

in conjunction to Western’s

ambitious goal to internation-

alize.

The trips served to inform

Western’s leadership of what

it would take to play on an

international stage.

Spreading across the country,

the team visited strategic ar-

eas including Sichuan Univer-

sity (Chengdu), South China

University of Technology

(Guangzhou), Nanjing Univer-

sity (Nanjing), and the Univer-

sity of Hong Kong (Hong

Kong) to foster existing rela-

tionships and explore new

opportunities.

In the November trip, the

delegation made a trip to

Suzhou to celebrate the open-

ing of the Soochow University

– Western Centre for Syn-

chrotron Radiation Research.

“No relationship works in life

unless there is communication

and contact. This isn’t some-

thing you can do once a year

and hope to be successful.”

Deakin expects the next few

months to be filled with craft-

ing an execution strategy in-

volving contact between

Western and its potential

Chinese partners.

Please see here for full story.

The book fully covers Profes-

sor Yeung’s international

working experiences and pho-

tos, he also includes his gradu-

ate studies experience at

Western in one of the chap-

ters. The memory in Syden-

ham hall, how he likes the

campus of Western as he

describes it as one of the

most beautiful campuses in

Canada, and he never allowed

himself to miss the Mustang

compete on campus during

his time at Western.

Prof. Yeung Yue-man, MA’66,

the recipient of 2010 Alumni

Award of Merit—Professional

Achievement Award, has just

published his 50th book on

December 14, 2012.

‘From Local to Global and

Back—Memoir of a Hong-

konger’ is not only a memoir

about Professor Yeung him-

self, but also takes into ac-

count the social norms and

customs of Hong Kong in the

past 50 years.

Professor Yeung told us at his

book launch, “The first pic-

ture in the book was taken at

Western!”

He highly recommended his

book to the young adults!

Congratulations to Professor

Yeung for the launch of his

50th book!

WESTERN GOES EAST

THE 50TH BOOK BY PROF. YEUNG-YUE-MAN

and 6 Deans, the event, said

Kev in Go ld thorp , VP

(External Relations) was a

cornerstone for Western’s

next steps onto the interna-

tional stage.

APRIL ALUMNI RECEPTION Hosted by alumnus Henry

C h e n g , B A ’ 7 1 , M B A ’ 7 2 ,

LLD’97, Chairman and Execu-

tive Director of New World

Development Company Lim-

ited, a reception for volun-

teers and donors was held at

the Cheng Yu Tung Manage-

ment Institute, Ivey’s Hong

Kong campus named in hon-

our of Cheng’s father on Fri-

day, April 27, 2012.

With over 50 alumni in atten-

dance along with Western’s

delegation of Provost, VP’s

For more information on Western’s China Trip 2012, click here for more details.

Page 3

2013 WINTER ISSUE

Caption describing picture or graphic.

2012 YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD OF MERIT - ASIA

Page 4

THE PURPLE CONNECTIO N

To celebrate the achieve-

ments of Western’s excep-

tional alumni, the Alumni

Awards of Merit (Asia)

Reception was held at the

Club Lusitano on a Monday,

November 6, 2012.

The successful evening was

supported by over 40 alumni

along with Western’s delega-

tion of Provost, VPs,3 Deans

and 4 Professors.

Dr. Janice Deakin, Provost &

Vice-President (Academic)

and Kevin Goldthorp, Vice-

President (External Relations)

introduced and officially

launched the re-branded

Western University’s Chinese

name (加拿大韋仕敦大學).

We also took the opportunity

to congratulate Agnes Chan,

BACS’81, Chair of the Hong

Kong Advisory Board, as she

received the highest tribute

from Alumni Western— Dr.

Ivan Smith Award in the 38th

Annual Alumni Awards of

Merit Dinner on campus dur-

ing the Homecoming week.

Another exciting moment for

the evening, Dr. Janice Deakin

presented the 5th Annual

Spirit of Western Award to

the Hong Kong Branch Volun-

teers.

Last but not least, the Young

Alumni Award was presented

to Ms. Randy Lai, BA’93.

We heartily congratulate all

the award recipients and

thank you for all your sup-

port!

ALUMNI AWARDS OF MER IT (AS IA) RECEPTION 2012

Ms. Randy Lai

Managing Director of

McDonald’s® Restaurants

(Hong Kong) Limited

Randy serves as McDonald’s

Hong Kong Managing Director,

accountable for the overall di-

rection of the company’s more

than 200 restaurants in the city.

At Western, Randy fondly re-

calls living in Lambton Hall, com-

pleted her Economics degree in

just two and a half years. After

graduation, she returned to

Hong Kong, where she earned

an Executive MBA from the

Chinese University of Hong

Kong.

She joined McDonald’s China in

1998 as a marketing executive,

and then moved to the market-

ing department of McDonald’s

Hong Kong in 2005.

In 2010, she was named as

Managing Director of McDon-

ald’s in Singapore, the first

woman to serve in this posi-

tion. Today, she was named

CEO of the Year 2012 by the

Asia Pacific Customer Rela-

tionship Excellence Awards,

pushes for restaurant expan-

sion and customer service,

while also dedicating vast re-

sources to employee training

and career development.

Aside her keen business mind-

set, she is also passionate

about giving back to the com-

munity. A s a Director of

Ronald McDonald House

Charities Hong Kong, she

championed brand building and

fundraising activities, and

launched the “Part of me, Part

of My Community” Campaign

to help build public awareness

as well as raise funds.

And the root of that success, she

credits Western. “In the past 20

years, I have gone through differ-

ent phases of my life, both ups

and downs,” said Randy. “But

one thing was certain, my univer-

sity education at Western has

provided me with a strong foun-

dation, both academically and

personally, to enable me to walk

through my journey.”

“For that I am eternally grateful.”

Ms. Randy Lai, BA’93,

recipient of 2012 Alumni

Award of Merit (Asia) -

Young Alumni Award.

ern. “The program suited me

perfectly, and helped me feel

very confident to face the

world when I graduated,” she

says. She remembers Western

as a friendly place and has fond

memories of her time in Bay-

field Hall.

After working with the Cana-

dian tax services in London,

Agnes decided to pursue her

career in Hong Kong. She

worked with the Treasury

Department of Hong Kong

Government for eight years

and spent six years in investor

relations with Pacific Century

Insurance Holding Limited and

then joined the China Con-

struction Bank. Now officially

retired, Agnes recently be-

came a partner in a financial

public relations company.

Throughout her career, Agnes

has maintained her connection

with Western, as a participant

in alumni activities, a member

and Chair of the Hong Kong

Advisory Board, an enthusias-

tic promoter for all things

Western, and a generous

financial supporter. “I received

a quality education at West-

ern, and I enjoyed every day of

it,” she explains. “I want to

share my good experience

with students who may want

to go to Western, and I want

to do what I can help to young

alumni.”

Agnes is excited about West-

ern’s future direction, and

wants to see the university

develop a higher profile in

China and more international

flavour at home. A movie fa-

natic, she says winning the

University’s highest alumni

honour is “worth a lot more

than an Oscar.”

DR. IVAN SMITH AWARD 2012 – AGNES CHAN , BACS ’81

The Dr. Ivan Smith Award

is named in honour of the

Alumni Association's first

president, and it is Alumni

Western's highest tribute,

recognizing significant and sus-

tained contributions to the

Alumni Association, Western

University and society.

At the 38th Annual Alumni

Awards of Merit Dinner during

Homecoming this past Sep-

tember, this year’s Dr. Ivan

Smith Award was presented to

Agnes Chan, the Chair of the

Hong Kong Advisory Board.

Agnes and her family emi-

grated from Hong Kong to

Canada when she was in sen-

ior high school. A visit to

Western’s campus proved to

be love at first sight. She

graduated first class of the

Administrative and Commer-

cial Studies program at West-

Page 5

2013 WINTER ISSUE

5TH ANNUAL SPIRIT OF WESTERN AWARD – HONG KONG BRANCH

Congratulations to Hong Kong

Branch Volunteers! We are

very proud to announce that

the 5th Annual Spirit of

Western Award was pre-

sented to the Hong Kong

Branch volunteers (which in-

cludes the Hong Kong Advi-

sory Board and Executive

Committee members) this

year.

The Spirit of Western Award

recognizes Western alumni

who embody the Spirit of

Western through their volun-

teer commitment to the Uni-

versity, and their exceptional

effort to enrich the university

community and the lives of its

students and alumni.

At the Alumni Association’s

Annual General Meeting on

campus during Homecoming

week, the Spirit of Western

Award was presented to three

student representatives, Jessica

Fong, HBA’13, Ryan Law,

BMOS’13, Fiona Wu,

BMOS’13, and Hong Kong

Advisory Board member, Mr.

Myron Ng, BA’95, EMBA’08.

To share the great honour

with our volunteers and

alumni, the Spirit of Western

Award was presented to our

volunteers at the Alumni

Awards of Merit (Asia) Recep-

tion by Dr. Janice Deakin, Pro-

vost & Vice-President

(Academic).

Thanks to Hong Kong Branch

volunteers in their dedication

and contribution in keeping the

Purple and Proud spirit of

Western in Hong Kong!

With their continued leader-

ship, we look forward to the

expansion of alumni activities in

the Asia Pacific Region in

2013!!

2/F. Shui On Centre

6-8 Habour Road

Wanchai, Hong Kong

Phone: 852.2824.8837

Fax: 852.2824.8000

Email: asiaevents@uwo.ca

Website: www.alumni.uwo.ca

W E S T E R N U N I V E R S I T Y

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2012 Stay Connected. Get Involved.

pate in something a

bit differ-

NEW CHINESE NAME FOR WESTERN The new Chinese name of Western was launched at the Alumni Awards

of Merit (Asia) Reception in Nov 2012. Western’s new branding requires

the translation of the University’s name into Chinese, which presented

the opportunity to have a Chinese name that accurately reflects the cali-

ber of the University. The new Chinese translation is one where the

sound and the meaning of the words chosen are positive and consistent

with the English name.

The full name “Western University, Canada” will be translated as:

加拿大韋仕敦大學

Our new Chinese name is a crucial element in achieving consistency as

the University continues its work in raising Western’s reputation interna-

tionally and in developing and deepening our relations with students,

alumni and others in Asia.

Remembrance Day in Beijing

Pub Crawl – July

Spring Hike – March

Off to Western – August

Halloween Tram Party – October

Golf Clinic – September

Spring Dinner Pun Choi – February

Dean Brian Timney,

Faculty of Social Science Alumni Reception – April