Governance – Yeh Family Philanthropy

The Yeh Family Philanthropy seeks to fulfill its mission in an open and transparent manner. As such, the Yeh Family Philanthropy is governed by a board of directors and grants committee. The board of directors oversees the strategy and fiduciary responsibilities or the organization, while the grants committee meets regularly to review grant proposals and monitor evaluation.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is comprised of five directors, two Yeh family members and three external advisors:

Yvette Yeh Fung

Yvette is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A. and J.D.) and UCLA (M.B.A). She is the chair of the Yeh Family Philanthropy and a director of Hsin Chong International Holdings Ltd. Yvette has a long history of educational involvement, through several schools, universities, and organizations in Hong Kong and the US. She also has a strong interest and background in social entrepreneurship and non-profit leadership as a board member of several organizations in Hong Kong. Yvette and her husband have two children and enjoy traveling immensely.

V-Nee Yeh

V-Nee Yeh is a graduate of Williams College (B.A.) and Columbia University (J.D.). He is a former member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. V-Nee is founder and director of several fund management businesses (Value Partners, Argyle Street, Cheetah, HS Group & Samena) in Hong Kong and Asia. He and his wife are supporters of the arts and environment. V-Nee enjoys skiing and wakesurfing, seeking to spend as much time as possible on the slopes or in the ocean. V-Nee and his wife have one daughter, who is also an avid skier.

Bernard Chan

Bernard Charnwut Chan is a deputy to the National People’s Congress of China, a non-official member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council (2004-2009 and 2012-2017) and (2017-2022) the Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council. He is also a former member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (1998-2008). A graduate of Pomona College in California, he is the President of Asia Financial Holdings and Asia Insurance. He is Chairman of the Hong Kong – Thailand Business Council and an advisor to Bangkok Bank (China) Co. Ltd. Among his public service activities, he is Chairperson of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Chairman of the Hong Kong Palace Museum Ltd, Chairman of the M Plus Museum Ltd., Chairman of Tai Kwun Culture & Arts Co. Ltd., Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute and Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of Our Hong Kong Foundation. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2002, in 2006, he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government, and in 2020 he received Hong Kong’s highest honor, the Grand Bauhinia Medal.

Donald K. Leung

Donald graduated from University of California at Berkeley and completed Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program. He started a banking career in 1977 with Bank of America, and joined Wardley Limited (a member of HSBC Group) in 1984. Donald then joined Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited in 1986 and had pursued a second career there until his retirement in 2006. Donald was an Independent Non Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited. He has been a Director of the Yeh Family Philanthropy since its inception.

Ronna Chao

Ms. Ronna CHAO is Managing Director of Novel Investments Limited, Vice Chairman of Novetex Textiles Limited, and a Director of Novelpark Investments Limited. Her responsibilities in these various capacities cover investment and portfolio management, property redevelopment, and textile manufacturing. Ms. Chao has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from Brown University, and earned her M.B.A. from Stanford University. She also spent a year as an undergraduate at Keio University.

Grants Committee

The grants committee is comprised of one Yeh family member, currently Yvette Yeh Fung, and three external advisors:

Susan Keane

Sue is a graduate of Stirling University, Scotland (M.B.A). Sue worked in retail for the best part of her career for Marks and Spencer and Starbucks Coffee both in the UK and the Asia Pacific region. Now retired, Sue travels extensively and supports various charitable organizations in Hong Kong and overseas which focus principally on education and animal welfare.

Howard Ling

Howard Ling is the Chief Consultant of the Social Enterprise Business Centre. He has founded several social enterprise vegetarian restaurants such as Harvester, Happy Veggies, Bijas, Ateen, Goodnuts, and Happy Ours. He has helped many non-profit organizations to set up more than 30 social enterprises, which employ hundreds of disabled people, including those with visual and hearing impairments, physical handicaps, and autism. He was awarded the Medal of Honour (Hong Kong) in 2017 and the Hong Kong Humanity Award for his dedicated public and community service, particularly his contributions to the development of social enterprises. Howard holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois, a Master degree in Business Administration from the The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and graduated from the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship programme.

EDWARD MA

Mr Edward Ma is the Secretary-General of the Yidan Prize Foundation. An engineer by training at the University of Cambridge, Mr Ma was inspired by the experience of studying at the university and deeply appreciates the importance and the transformative power of education to empower and equip people with tools to navigate through a life-long journey of discovery. He believes education can benefit society as a whole and we all need to work together to bring a more equitable and inclusive future for everyone.