Advisory Board
Women in Law Hong Kong benefits from the expertise, guidance and insights of senior leaders in the legal and diversity space in Hong Kong. Key advisors commit to acting as a ready resource for WILHK, driving WILHK’s initiatives and focus areas on an annual basis.
Jeanette Chan
Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel - Airwallex
Jeanette Chan is the Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel at Airwallex, a global financial technology company that offers integrated solutions to businesses for cross-border transactions. Jeanette leads Airwallex’s compliance and legal teams globally to support the company’s continued global expansion and new product development. Prior to Airwallex, Jeanette was the Managing Partner and Head of the Asia Communications and Technology Practice at leading international law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she has worked for more than 30 years. Jeanette joined Paul Weiss in 1986 and initially worked in its Hong Kong, New York, Beijing and Shanghai offices. In 1992, she relocated to Hong Kong to take on the position of APAC senior international legal adviser at Cable & Wireless and in 1994, she re-joined Paul Weiss as a leader in the firm’s regional practice. Jeanette has extensive experience representing multinational and regional corporations, financial institutions, private equity funds and sponsors in their investments and operations in the region. She has been recognised as one of the world’s leading PRC law practitioners by influential business and legal organisations and publications, particularly in the communications, media and technology industries.
Teresa Ko
Partner and China Chairman - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Teresa is Freshfields’ China Chairman and a founding partner of Freshfields’ renowned Asia equity capital markets practice. Over her 25 years as a partner, Teresa has helped numerous Chinese state-owned, privately-owned and international companies with their most high-profile or ‘first of a kind’ securities transactions, including IPOs for the 'big four' banks. She has an equally impressive track record in public and private M&A transactions, takeovers and reverse takeovers, and China outbound transactions in many industries and sectors.
Amongst her many public service appointments, Teresa was the first woman to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee and initiated the disclosure of board diversity policies by Hong Kong listed companies. Teresa also served as a non-executive director of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Currently, she is a Trustee of the IFRS Foundation and one of the Deputy Chairs of the SFC’s Takeovers Panel.
Teresa is a founding member of The 30% Club in Hong Kong and is an active supporter of The Women’s Foundation (TWF). She participated in TWF’s “Flipping the Script” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWHDeNno2bI) to raise awareness of gender bias and to promote board diversity. She was recognised in the 2017 Financial Times / HERoes ‘10 Global Champions of Women in Business’ list.
Teresa holds a first class Master’s degree in law from Jesus College, Cambridge, England.
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Fiona Nott
CEO - The Women's Foundation
Fiona joined The Women’s Foundation as CEO in September 2017, combining her senior leadership experience with a passion for TWF’s mission to serve marginalised women and girls in Hong Kong. A former lawyer and Hang Seng Index company secretary, Fiona has lived in Hong Kong for nearly two decades having cultivated a career as a senior legal professional and adviser to a number of leading corporations in Hong Kong and around Asia including PCCW, AIA, AIG, Aviva, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery as well as SMEs, start ups and non-profit organisations.
She is the Co-Founder of Room to Read's Hong Kong Chapter and helped establish the Regional Programme office in New Delhi, India. She is Deputy Chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong & Macau and was Founder and Chair of its Women in Business Network. She is also is a Non-Executive Director of Aesop Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 2015, Fiona won the People’s Choice Award for the Advancement of Women in Business at the Austcham-Westpac Australia China Business Awards.
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow (FCIS) of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a member of the Law Society of New South Wales, Australia and a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and sits on AICD’s Hong Kong Committee.
Stephanie Sheng
Managing Director - Goldman Sachs
Stephanie Sheng is Managing Director at Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC in the Business Intelligence Group, advising the Asia Pacific investment banking, merchant banking and securities divisions on anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and economic sanctions regulations across a range of corporate transactions, as well being responsible for internal investigations in the region. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Stephanie was counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, specializing in US securities laws, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and FCPA investigations across Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Hong Tran
Partner - Mayer Brown
Hong Tran is a partner of Mayer Brown and is a Co-Firm Practice Leader of the global Employment and Benefits Group. He advises employers on compliance with employment, discrimination and privacy legislation. He also advises on strategic labour force issues including the structure of employment relationships; risk management in the employment and discrimination context; the introduction of changes to employment arrangements; the handling of union relations; and recruitment, disciplinary and termination issues. He is experienced in handling employment disputes, discrimination and privacy complaints/issues. He represents employers engaged in legal proceedings at the various court levels from the Labour Tribunal through to the Court of Final Appeal. He also advises employers in responding to investigations by the Labour Department, Equal Opportunities Commission and the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Privacy.
He has been ranked as Band 1 lawyer in employment Hong Kong Law by Chambers Asia Pacific (2017-2021) and a "Leading individual" in employment law by Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2015-2021). He has been recognised by Who's Who Legal (2015) as being among the world's leading lawyers for employment and labour practice in Hong Kong. He was named as one of the "pre-eminent practitioners in the world" and "one of the world's leading lawyers" by Guide to the World's Leading Labour & Employment Lawyers (2011). He was also named a Leading Asia Law Labour & Employment Lawyer by the Asia Law & Practice Survey (2008).
Hong has contributed to leading employment and discrimination law textbooks "Chitty on Contracts, Hong Kong Specific Contracts" Chapter 7, "Employment Law and Practice in Hong Kong" Chapters 3 & 5 and "Discrimination Law and Practice in Hong Kong" Chapters 4 and 7 (and Co-General Editor).
Hong is co-Chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong People Forum and a member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Manpower Committee. He Chairs Mayer Brown's Diversity and Inclusion Committee in Asia.
Dr. Mariel Dimsey
Secretary-General - Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre
Mariel is an international commercial and investment arbitration specialist. She has over 10 years’ experience acting as advisor and advocate in numerous international arbitrations covering a wide range of legal systems and industries. She also sits as arbitrator. One of Mariel's strengths is her ability to create pragmatic solutions for her clients in a competent and cost-efficient manner.
Mariel is an Australian Lawyer and Hong Kong Solicitor and received an LL.M. degree from the University of Cologne and a doctorate in law (Dr. iur.), summa cum laude, from the University of Basel, both in investment arbitration. She started her career in Frankfurt, working with a major international law firm and then a leading U.S. law firm in Germany and the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, she then moved to Hong Kong where she has now joined the CMS International Arbitration team.
Mariel has published and spoken extensively on international investment arbitration topics.