Laura Cha

Laura Cha previously served as Chairwoman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and is a member of the Hong Kong-United States Business Council. She currently holds several prominent roles, including Independent Non-Executive Director of Ant Group Co., Ltd., Senior International Advisor to Foundation Assets Management Sweden AB, and member of Sotheby’s International Advisory Board. She is also Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and a Director of the World Federation of Exchanges.

Earlier in her career, Cha served as an Independent Non-Executive Director for major multinational corporations, including Unilever plc and HSBC Holdings plc. Notably, she made history in 2001 as the first person from outside Mainland China to be appointed to the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China at vice-ministerial rank, serving as Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission until 2004. Prior to this, she spent nearly a decade at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, where she became Deputy Chairman in 1998.

Cha has also held significant public service roles in Hong Kong. She was a member of the Executive Council from 2004 to 2022 and has chaired several key advisory and regulatory bodies, including the University Grants Committee, the Advisory Committee on Corruption of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and the Financial Services Development Council. Internationally, she contributed as a member of the Global Agenda Council on the Global Financial System at the World Economic Forum.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University, California. She practiced law in San Francisco and Hong Kong from 1983 to 1991 and was also a former member of the Committee of 100 in the United States.

In recognition of her outstanding public service, Cha has been awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star (2001), the Gold Bauhinia Star (2009), and the Grand Bauhinia Medal (2017) by the Hong Kong Government.