Mr Jack So Chak Kwong, GBS, OBE, JP
Chairman, Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Mr Jack So Chak Kwong assumed the Chairmanship of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) on 1 October 2007. In this capacity, he presides over a 19-member Council comprising heads of Hong Kong's major commerce and industry organizations and senior government officials. The Council plans and supervises a global operation through an office network covering more than 40 key business centers, to promote Hong Kong’s trade and business with economies around the world.

Mr So began his career with the Hong Kong Government and joined the private sector in 1978, having held various senior positions in stockbroking, banking and property development. He served as Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council from 1985 to 1992. He became Chairman and Chief Executive of the MTR Corporation in 1995. He was Deputy Chairman and Group Managing Director of PCCW from 2003 to 2007.

He is a non-executive Director of AIA Group Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, and is also a senior advisor to Credit Suisse, Greater China. Mr So was an independent Director of HSBC from 2000 to 2007.

In 2007, Mr So was appointed Chairman of the Film Development Council by the Hong Kong SAR Government. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society.

In January 2013, Mr So was appointed a non-official member of the newly established Economic Development Commission, and Convenor of its Working Group on Convention and Exhibition Industries and Tourism. He is also a member of the Government’s Commission on Strategic Development.

In 2008, Mr So was appointed Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; he is also an International Business Advisor to the Mayor of Beijing.

A Justice of the Peace, Mr So was awarded the Golden Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2011. In the same year, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Social Science from the University of Hong Kong.