Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) announced today (Thursday) the following senior appointments and revisions to its organisation structure.
Patrick Conroy will succeed Frederick Grede as the company's chief operating officer. Mr Grede did not seek renewal of his employment contract with HKEx, which expires on 31 July 2003.
Mr Conroy will join HKEx on 18 August 2003. As required under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, HKEx has submitted the appointment to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for approval.
Karen Lee, currently the head of Listing, Regulation and Risk Management (LRRM), will succeed David Cheung as the company's chief financial officer. Mr Cheung is leaving the company for personal reasons.
HKEx wishes to thank Mr Grede and Mr Cheung for their contributions to the company.
Ms Lee will oversee finance, treasury and administration. As an interim arrangement, the risk management function of LRRM will be attached to the Finance, Treasury and Administration Unit and continue to be under the oversight of Ms Lee.
The organisation structure of HKEx will be revised to strengthen the company's operational efficiency. The main structural changes involve the Exchange Business Unit (EBU) and the LRRM Unit which will be renamed the Listing Unit. The participant admission and surveillance functions of the Regulation Division of LRRM have been transferred to the EBU, and the sponsor regulation function of the Regulation Division will be consolidated in the Listing Unit. The Listing Unit will be headed by Richard Williams, currently head of the Listing Division of LRRM, and he will succeed Ms Lee as secretary to the Main Board and Growth Enterprise Market Listing Committees.
The revised organisation structure is attached along with short biographies of Mr Conroy, Ms Lee and Mr Williams. The revised organisation structure will take effect on Monday, 23 June 2003.
Short biographies
Patrick Conroy
Patrick Conroy has a wide range of experience in the exchange business, as well as regulatory and international development agencies. He joined The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) in August 1998 and is currently its director for financial sector development and global partnerships. In this role, he has been responsible for the management of operational units covering securities and derivatives market development, regulation and policy, debt market development and debt management practices, insurance, contractual savings, housing finance, payment systems, securities clearance and settlement systems, micro finance and small and medium-sized enterprise finance.
With respect to his global partnerships role, Mr Conroy is responsible for various external World Bank partnerships including those with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), international standard setting bodies such as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems, the Financial Stability Forum and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Mr Conroy's responsibilities also include management of the joint World Bank/IMF Financial Sector Assessment Programme.
Before joining the World Bank, Mr Conroy was an advisor for special projects at the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), where his responsibilities included assistance in the development and implementation of strategic policies such as the open interface project and ASX's demutualisation.
Mr Conroy is no stranger to the Hong Kong securities market. He is a former senior director of the supervision of markets division at the SFC and held other executive positions in market supervision, research and policy during his tenure with the commission from May 1991 to January 1997. Prior to his first appointment at the SFC, Mr Conroy was the chief legal officer, corporate business ventures of the Chicago Stock Exchange, where he had worked since January 1982.
Mr Conroy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from DePaul University in the US and a Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall School of Law in Chicago in the US.
Karen Lee
Karen Lee is a Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years experience in Hong Kongs business community, including more than 18 years in the regulation of the securities and futures markets and risk management for the markets.
Ms Lee has been HKExs head of Listing, Regulation and Risk Management since 2000. Before her appointment to that post, she was the executive director for Traded Options at the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. She joined the Stock Exchange in 1995 and set up and supervised the operations of its clearing house for stock options. During her time with the Stock Exchange, Ms Lee also headed the joint Task Force on the merger of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Futures Exchange and the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company and the subsequent listing of HKEx.
Prior to joining the Stock Exchange, Ms Lee worked at the SFC for a brief period and was the financial controller of a public company for approximately two years.
Earlier in her career, Ms Lee was with the Hong Kong Futures Exchange for approximately 10 years and was the head of Exchange Operations prior to her departure in 1993.
Ms Lee is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and an Associate member of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accountancy from City of London Polytechnic and a Master of Science degree in Financial Engineering from City University of Hong Kong.
Richard Williams
Richard Williams is a Chartered Accountant with extensive capital markets experience with respect of listing rules.
He joined HKEx in October 2002 as senior vice president, Listing, Regulation & Risk Management and has headed the Listing Division since then, overseeing matters relating to listing applications, initial public offerings and listing policies.
Prior to coming to HKEx, Mr Williams was head of Listing Policy and Compliance at the Financial Services Authority in the UK between 2000 and 2002. He has also served as head of Listing Policy at the London Stock Exchange. His UK role involved participation in the policy development work of international securities bodies such as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions and the Committee of European Securities Regulators.
Mr Williams also worked in the accounting profession for 16 years. From 1989 to 1999 he was with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and its predecessor, Coopers & Lybrand, in the UK. He was involved in audit and corporate finance advisory work including stock exchange listing work. His last two years were spent on secondment from PwC to the London Stock Exchange as an adviser in the Listing Division.
Mr Williams is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Economic History from the University of Warwick in the UK.