Personalities
Li & Fung elects independent Board Non-executive director
Margaret Leung Ko May (60) has been appointed with effect from April 1, 2013 as an Independent Non-executive Director to the Board of Li & Fung Ltd.
The Hong Kong based company is recognised as world’s leader in consumer goods design, development sourcing and distribution. It manages the supply chain for retailers and brands worldwide with over 300 offices and distributions centres in more than 40 economies across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Through its three interconnected Business Networks –Trading, Logistics and Distribution – the Group offers a spectrum of services covering the entire supply chain end-to-end.
Margaret Leung has served as vice-chairman and chief executive of Hang Seng Bank Ltd., chairman of Hang Seng Bank (China) Ltd. and as a director of various subsidiaries of Hang Seng Bank Ltd. (all subsidiaries of HSBC Holdings. HSBC Trustee (C.I.) Ltd. is the trustee of a trust established for Li & Fung Honorary Chairman Dr. Victor Fung Kwok King and his family members , and HSBC Trustee is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings. Leung served as well as a director of the The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC) and the Group General Manager of HSCB Holdings plc prior to her retirement from the HSBC in June 2012 after 34 years of services.
Leung is currently an independent non-executive director of First Pacific Company Limited and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. and she was in a same position also of Swire Pacific Limited (2008-12) and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (2009-12). She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Accounting and BA from University of Hong Kong.
Under the service contract between the Company and Margaret Leung, she is appointed for a specific term of three years and will be subject to retirement by rotation and re-election at annual general meeting of Li & Fung in accordance with the bye laws. The director’s fee under this contract is HKD 160000 per year and she is also entitled to an additional annual fee of HKD 100000 for acting as a member of the Audit Committee. These fees are subject to regular assessment with reference to remuneration surveys conducted by independent external consultants and approval of the shareholders at the annual general meeting.
Therefore Li & Fung and as of April 1, 2013 has the following non-executive Directors: Victor Fung Kwok King (Honorary Chairman and Chairman Risk Management and Sustainability Committee), and Benedict Chang Yew Teck and the independent non-executive directors Paul Edward Selway-Swift (Chairman of the Audit Committee and also of the Nomination Committee), Allan Wong Chi Yun (Chairman of the Remuneration Committee), Franklin Warren McFarlan Martin Tang Yue Nien, Fu Yuning and Margaret Leung Ko May Yee. The Executive Directors are William Fujng Kwok Lun (Group Chairman), Bruce Philip Rockowitz (Group President & Chief Executive Officer) and Spencer Theodore Fung /Group COO Chief Operating Officer) and Srinivasan Parthasarathy is Group Chief Compliance Officer.
Li & Fung had 2012 42.0 % less profit or a total of USD 511 because of the costs of restructuring its business in the USA and reduction of the number of brands distributed in the U.S. (due to a new agreement with Wal-Mart) Sales increased by 1 % to USD 20222 million, reflecting ongoing strength of the core trading business. For 2013 the company expects benefits from the restructuring in the U.S. and cost control measures across the Group.
Bruce Ph. Rockowitz declared that the global economic environment in 2012 had been more demanding than expected and the retail business was impacted by lacklustre consumer sentiment in the U.S. and Europe. He added “Despite this market condition, we were encouraged by the number of new customers attracted to us for the scale and depth of our operations. We believe the trend for outsourcing will continue as more and more retailers and fashion brands appreciate the competitive advantages offered by one-stop-shop supply chain solutions!