Governance Structure and Successive Presidents (Part II) — HKUST

This is Part II, covering the relay lineage of the Council’s six Chairmen and their intersections with the transition milestones of successive presidents. For the legal basis of the governance structure, the three-tier division of responsibilities, and the administrative relay of the five presidents, see Governance Structure and Successive Presidents (Part I)^※.

# I. Successive Council Chairmen: A Six-Generation Lineage (1988–Present)

Running parallel to the administrative relay of presidents is the succession of Council Chairmen at the governance level — two threads that often intersect at each transition juncture.

# Chung Sze-yuen (1st Chairman, 1988–1999) — Founder and HKUST’s Pre-eminent Political Enabler

Dr. Chung Sze-yuen (GBM, GBS, OBE, JP) played a role that began before the university existed. He chaired the HKUST Planning Committee from 1986^※, and subsequently served as the founding Chairman of the Council for an eleven-year term (1988–1999)^※ (for the founding process, see Pre-History and Naming^※). After stepping down as Council Chairman, he moved on to chair the Court (1999–2008) and served as Pro-Chancellor (1999–2011)^※, remaining continuously involved in university affairs for over two decades. He is the founding figure who spanned both governance lines for the longest period.

# Vincent Lo (2nd Chairman, 1999–2002)

Dr. Vincent Lo (GBS) succeeded Chung Sze-yuen as Council Chairman in April 1999^※ for a three-year term. A prominent Hong Kong property developer and philanthropist, he moved on to become a member of the Court after his chairmanship (from 2002)^※. His tenure overlapped heavily with Wu Chia-wei’s departure and Paul Chu Ching-wu’s succession (2001), witnessing HKUST’s transition from its founding phase into a period of consolidation.

# John Chan Cho-chak (3rd Chairman, 2002–2008)

Mr. John Chan Cho-chak (GBS, JP) was appointed by the Chief Executive as the third Council Chairman on 1 April 2002^※, serving a six-year term. He was formerly Managing Director of the Kowloon Motor Bus Group and also served as a non-executive director of Hang Seng Bank and GDH Limited. After stepping down in 2008, Chan moved on to chair the Court and, in March 2023, was further appointed as Pro-Chancellor^※, making him, after Chung Sze-yuen, one of the longest-serving members across the most positions in HKUST’s governance structure.

# Marvin Cheung Kin-tung (4th Chairman, 2008–2014; Died in Office)

Mr. Marvin Cheung Kin-tung (GBS, JP, 1947–2014) assumed the role of the fourth Council Chairman in April 2008^※. Originally intended to serve until 2015, he passed away in office on 13 September 2014^※ — the only Council Chairman to have died during his term. A former Chairman of KPMG China and Hong Kong, his six years chairing the Council coincided precisely with the first term of President Tony Chan Fan-cheong (2009–2014). Following his death, Deputy Chairman Martin Tang acted as chairman until Andrew Liao Cheung-sing took over in 2015.

# Andrew Liao Cheung-sing (5th Chairman, 2015–2023)

Mr. Andrew Liao Cheung-sing (GBS, SBS, SC, JP) was appointed as the fifth Council Chairman by the Chief Executive on 6 March 2015^※, for an eight-year term lasting until March 2023^※. A Senior Counsel, he has long been active in Hong Kong’s Executive Council and numerous public bodies. Liao’s tenure spanned two presidential transitions — to Wei Shyy (fourth president, 2018) and Nancy Ip Yuk-yu (fifth president, 2022) — and he witnessed the establishment of HKUST(GZ). Upon stepping down in March 2023, he moved on to chair the Court^※.

# Harry Shum Heung-yeung (6th Chairman, 2023–Present)

Professor Harry Shum Heung-yeung was appointed as the sixth Council Chairman by the Chief Executive on 6 March 2023, for a three-year term^※. His reappointment was announced in January 2026, with a new term extending for a further three years from 6 March 2026^※, taking his total tenure through to 2029. A former Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s AI and Research Group, where he oversaw divisions including Bing and Microsoft Research^※, his ties to HKUST span more than two decades: he has been an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering since 2000 and holds an IAS Professor-at-Large appointment at HKUST’s Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study^※. On his reappointment, he remarked: 「在科大迎來三十五週年這個歷史時刻，我深感榮幸再次獲委任為校董會主席。」 (“I am deeply honoured to be reappointed as Chairman of the Council at this historic moment as HKUST celebrates its 35th anniversary.”)

# Table of Successive Council Chairmen

# II. Intersection Points Between the Two Threads

This intersection table reveals a pattern: throughout HKUST’s history, the president and the Council Chairman have almost never transitioned simultaneously — most handovers are staggered, ensuring the governance layer retains at least one thread of continuity at all times. Only in 2008–2009 (Paul Chu → Tony Chan, John Chan → Marvin Cheung) did both lines change over in the same year, which, as it happens, coincides precisely with the opening of the university’s international rankings surge. This synchronous generational renewal at a critical developmental inflection point may be coincidence, but it could also reflect a deliberate calculus to refresh both the governance and executive layers in tandem.

Looking across the six Council Chairmen, another notable pattern is the “Council Chairman → Court Chairman / Pro-Chancellor” rotation pathway: Chung Sze-yuen, John Chan, and Andrew Liao all moved into the Court system to continue serving the university after relinquishing the Council chairmanship. This “retire-but-not-withdraw” trajectory partly explains how HKUST’s governance layer has managed to sustain a high degree of experiential continuity across personnel changes.

The tenure details, titles, and personnel facts in this article are as they appear in the source pages listed below; any discrepancies should defer to the latest official announcements. For the administrative relay lineage of successive presidents, see Governance Structure and Successive Presidents (Part I)^※.