Founder of The Mills

Harvard Graduate School of Design – Dean’s Leadership Council

Urban Land Institute (APAC) – Executive Committee Member

Our Hong Kong Foundation – Advisor

Antiquities Advisory Boards & Committee – Member

Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee – Member

Hong Kong Tourism Board – Member, Audit Committee & P & E Committee

Hong Kong Life Sciences Society – Advisor

Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab) – Advisory Board

Vanessa is the Group Managing Director of Nan Fung Development Ltd., managing the Group’s real estate development portfolio.

She is also the Founder of The Mills – a revitalization project of transforming the Nan Fung Textile Mills into a global innovation techstyle destination comprising of art, start-up incubator and experiential retail. The Mills project piloted many of the Group’s current social innovation and environmental sustainability works. Along with her experience in working for AECOM as a Landscape Designer as well as a part-time lecturer at HKU on City Branding, she hopes to inspire the younger generation and push Hong Kong’s leadership potential beyond the status quo.

She is a convener of NarrativeHK, an initiative promoting positive attitude among her generation in envisioning the future of HK. She co-founded Quo Kefir Believers, a natural probiotic health food company, and the co- owner of HK’s first CrossFit gym, CrossFit Asphodel.

Vanessa obtained her Master in Landscape Architecture at Harvard University and Bachelors in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Growing up witnessing polluting apparel production, intrigued by the potential of material science, and affected by the body ideals implanted by the fashion industry, Veronica Chou founded eco-innovative, size inclusive womenswear brand Everybody & Everyone.

Veronica has also led investments in the Karl Lagerfeld brand – growing it to a global fashion and accessories business with many profitable product expansions. She invests into a wide range of businesses, focusing on fashion tech and sustainability. Veronica was the President of Iconix China from 2008-2015, successfully launching 12 mass market American brands into China and opening over 1000 stores. She is a special advisor to the Copenhagen Fashion Summit.

Prof. George G. Q. Huang is Chair Professor and Head of Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong. He gained his BEng and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Southeast University (China) and Cardiff University (UK) respectively. He has conducted research projects in areas of Smart Manufacturing, Logistics, Construction and Systems Analytics through Cyber-Physical Internet with substantial government and industrial grants exceeding HK$60M. One of his on-going R&D projects is to use blockchain and IoT technology to facilitate ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) reporting for listed companies. He collaborated extensively with industries through joint projects and start-up companies. He has published extensively including over three hundred refereed articles in journals and conferences in addition to ten monographs, edited reference books and conference proceedings. He is among “Top 1% Most Cited Scholar” and highly ranked internationally in his research areas. He serves as associate editors and editorial members for several international journals. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), fellow of ASME, HKIE, IET and CILT, and member of IIE and HKLA.

Janice Wang, a member of Alvanon’s founding family, joined Alvanon in 2002 as its CEO. Under her leadership Alvanon has attracted and nurtured top-tier data analysts, 3D modelers and apparel experts. The Group now operates in 89 countries and has evolved into an innovations company reinventing the way fashion works.

At Alvanon she has successfully combined her apparel business knowledge and management skills with her industry vision to empower companies with data and intelligence. Improving standards in fashion – by providing the best insight, consulting services, training and technology for apparel professionals. The Financial Times has described her as: “The shaper of change for (the) fashion world”.

Janice is the third generation of a family rooted in the apparel industry. She spent her formative years in the family childrenswear manufacturing business in Hong Kong, Sterling Products Limited, where she learned the value of technical excellence, relentless innovation, consumer focus and mentoring talent. She has worked in every aspect of product development and the supply chain. After leaving university with a double degree in Economics and East Asian studies, she went on to hone her business management skills with such high profile organizations as Texwatch Inc. and industry giant Li and Fung Limited. She has recently been admitted to the exclusive Young Presidents Organization and has been previously shortlisted in the UK for both the Businesswoman of the Year Award and the Woman of the Future Award. She lives in Hong Kong with her husband and two young daughters.