Chair of British Business Awards 2024
Kirsten Johnston
Founder & CEO, JWDK; Chair of BritCham Shanghai
Kirsten is an award-winning brand strategist and designer with over 25 years industry experience working across many international markets including Hong Kong, Australia, the UK and China. She founded her brand consultancy, JWDK, in 2003 in London and expanded her business to China in 2014. Kirsten has deep expertise in place branding and Chinese cultural identity and completed her IMBA in China 2019 with distinction.
British Company of the Year Award
Lead Judge
Chris Torrens | Managing Director, APCO Worldwide Greater China; Vice Chair of BritCham China
Chris Torrens is a recognized expert and regular media commentator on China’s geopolitical and trade risk issues. As the Beijing-based managing director of APCO’s Greater China operations, Chris brings unique insights to support multinational companies operating in China, advising them on opportunities and challenges in the Chinese market, in particular in relation to geopolitical and regulatory risks.
Judging Panel
Peter Burnett OBE, BBS
CEO, China Britain Business Council
Linian Li
Managing Director, Modern Water China
Jeremy Sargent OBE
Founder and Managing Director, JSA China; Chair of BritCham Guangdong
Ted Wan
President, Greater China, Smiths Group plc; Vice Chair of BritCham Shanghai
Outstanding Contribution to the UK Award
Lead Judge
John McLean OBE | Chair, China UK Business Development Centre; Chair, IoD City of London; Senior Advisor, CCCUK
John’s initial background was in London and New York with PwC and thereafter with a City Investment Trust. He has been CEO, Chair and NED of several listed and private companies covering businesses in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, China, Thailand and Australasia. In 1999, John set up a manufacturing and retail business in Shanghai In 2020, John co-founded China UK Business Development Centre (CUKBDC)to continue to develop the business opportunities between China and the UK.
Judging Panel
Richard Burn
Senior Adviser, APCO; Former UK Trade Commissioner to China and Europe
Ping Huang
President, Zhejiang UK Association
Dee Wu
CEO, Ascend IT
Huijuan Zhang
Chief Representative, CCPIT Representative Office in the UK
Innovation Award
Lead Judge
David Yang | Dean, Low Carbon Development Institute, Tsinghua International Innovation Center Shanghai
David is also Chairman of Tsing Shan Environmental Group and Chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee at TEEC. With a distinguished career spanning over 30 years, Mr. Yang has established himself as a highly accomplished professional in the global 500 companies and industry-leading organizations in China. He possesses extensive expertise in Commercial Applications and M&A transactions within the Environmental Technology, Energy Conservation, and Water Recycling Technology sectors.
Judging Panel
Mark Clayton
CFO, C2W Group; Vice Chair of BritCham Guangdong
Sherry Fu
Managing Director, China, The University of Manchester
Paul Sives
General Manager, Proton Products; Chair of BritCham Southwest
Sustainability Award
Lead Judge
Dr. Jianzhong Lu | Global Reporting Initiative GRI Board Member, Deputy Director Sustainability Committee of China Society of Management Science
Dr Lu is a pioneer of sustainable business strategy and well-respected industry thought leader, with profound and systematic practical expertise and theoretical methodologies. Dr Lu has performed in senior executive roles for more than 20 years in a variety of industry sectors and multi-national companies, such as currently President General Affairs of Greater China of EssilorLuxottica, former China President of The Weir Group, Partner of Brunswick Group, Executive Vice President of Singapore RGE Group (China) and Chief Representative, Chairman of RGE subsidiary Asia Symbol Paper & Pulp Ltd, Vice President of RGE Subsidiary Sateri Group Ltd., Acting President China of BHP Billiton Group.
Judging Panel
Prof Jing Dai
Professor in Operations Management, Director of Center for Responsible Business and Innovation, Co-Programme Director of MIT SCALE Nottingham Ningbo
Masters in Supply Chain Management, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Guoxiong Zhang
Managing Director, Deloitte
Education Partnership Award
Lead Judge
Cat Sinclair-Jones | Director East China, British Council; Consul (Culture and Education), British Consulate-General Shanghai
Cat Sinclair-Jones is the Director of the British Council in East China and Consul (Culture and Education), with responsibility for leading the UK’s cultural relations and educational exchange work in the three Eastern provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as Shanghai Municipality.
Judging Panel
Dr Terry Creissen OBE
Regional Managing Director, Nord Anglia Education
Executive Committee Member of BritCham Shanghai
Su Si
Head of Education, China, Department for Business and Trade
Chinese UK Alumnus Award
Lead Judge
Grace Guan | Regional Director, China and East Asia (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea); Edinburgh Global, University of Edinburgh; Vice Chair of BritCham Shanghai
Acting as the senior representative of University of Edinburgh in East Asia, Grace is responsible for raising the profile and advancing engagement across the region, looking after the strategic and ambitious partnership the university has with governments, private sectors, and research institutes. Grace plays a leading role in the China Strategy for the university. She also leads her team to develop diverse activities including alumni engagement, research collaboration, developing connections and opportunities for the university across East Asia.
Judging Panel
Julian Fisher
Co-founder, Venture Education; Chair of BritCham China
Matt Ryan
Director, CDUT Sino-British Collaborative Education, Stirling College, Chengdu University; Vice Chair of BritCham Southwest
Steven Yang
Chief Executive, Opal Education
Business Partnership Award
Lead Judge
Tom Simpson | Managing Director, China Operations, & China Chief Representative, China-Britain Business Council
As Managing Director for the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), Tom leads the organisations strategy for China covering government affairs, trade policy, and membership.
Tom has worked in the UK-China trade and investment space for over 15-years and has extensive experience supporting British companies investing as well as exporting with China. Tom has had multiple roles at CBBC since joining in 2013 as Chief Representative for Guangzhou (2013-2015). He then moved to Beijing to lead the organisations Creative Industries and Sports (2015-2017) and Commercial (2017-2019) teams in China.
Judging Panel
Vicky Li
FCMA, CGMA, Regional VP, North Asia, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA & CIMA); Executive Committee Member of BritCham Shanghai
Linmao Li PhD
Chartered Insurer, ACII; Executive Committee Member of BritCham Shanghai
Alina Tang
Head of Government Affairs, East China, Group Public and Regulatory Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank China
Inspiring Leadership Award
Lead Judge
Will Sung | Leadership and Organisational Coach, Wilosophy; Executive Committee Member of BritCham Guangdong
Will, born and educated in London, UK, is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in diverse industries across the corporate and startup landscape. He has a proven track record of building high-performing teams, leading successful operations across regions, and driving organizational development. Working in 8 countries over his corporate career, he is well-versed in navigating cultural and political landscapes. Having started his own FinTech business in London, Hong Kong, and Manilla, along with Leadership and Business coaching practices in Guangzhou, his passion is spent developing young people and business & management professionals, which has led to being seen as a go-to coach for businesses, Universities, and corporates alike. As a business coach to C-suite executives, start-ups, road-to-Unicorn, MNCs and NGO’s.
Judging Panel
Ada Chen
Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Greater China, Reckitt
Jessica Huang
General Manager, Swire Properties Ltd. Guangzhou Representative Office
Wilson Pang
Head of GBA Strategy and Development Office, KPMG China; Head of Our Impact Plan, KPMG China; The 13th Guangdong Provincial CPPCC Member
Lily Shen
General Manager, HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Guangdong) Limited
Social Impact Award
Lead Judge
Huan Ni | Founding Director, Shanghai Green Light-Year Environmental Service Center
Ms. Huan Ni is the Founding Director of Shanghai Green Light-Year Environmental Service Center. She is also the Director of ESG Development and Promotion of Shanghai Pudong New Energy Association, IUCN CEC Member of China. She had been working with UNDP, the World Bank Group, UNEP FI, WWF China and FCO Global Prosperity Fund for 15+ years on sustainable financing and advisory projects before she established Green Light-Year and started her career in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). She has coached youth teams to win WBG Youth Competition, UNDP Youth4Climate, and the World Food Forum Education Fair, etc.
Judging Panel
Marcia Chen
Founder and CEO, Women Alliance Group
Dr John Quelch CBE
Executive Vice Chancellor, Distinguished Professor of Social Science, Duke Kunshan University
Daisy Shen
Partner, Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, Advisory Head of Energy and Natural Resources, KPMG China; Executive Committee Member of BritCham China