Aged 62, has been an Independent Non-executive Director of the Company since October 2021.
Mr Lai has over 30 years of experience in corporate finance and commercial law fields. He joined Deacons in 1985 and was head of its corporate finance practice before retiring from partnership in 2008. Mr Lai re-joined Deacons as a consultant in January 2012 and in November 2016, he joined the Chow Tai Fook group. Mr Lai has since acted as chief legal officer of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited and group general counsel and joint company secretary of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, stock code 1929).
Mr Lai obtained a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Hong Kong (“HKU”) in November 1982 and a postgraduate certificate in law from HKU in July 1983. He is a qualified solicitor in Hong Kong, England and Wales, New South Wales, Australia and Australian Capital Territory, Australia, and is a qualified barrister in Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Mr Lai currently serves on a number of committees of The Law Society of Hong Kong including as chairman of its company law committee, prior to which he acted as director and council member between 2016 and 2019. Mr Lai had also served on a number of public appointments in Hong Kong.