Professional Standards Committee

As Vice-President of HKMU, Professor Au is responsible for the planning and implementation of strategic initiatives to advance the University’s vision, mission and objectives. He oversees international and Mainland collaborations, supports HKMU’s ongoing development, and contributes to initiatives such as the establishment of Hong Kong’s first University of Applied Sciences and the University’s participation in global ranking exercises.

With more than 30 years of academic experience, Professor Au has published widely in internationally refereed journals on business ethics, international management, technology transfer and marketing. As Principal or Co-Principal Investigator, he secured over HK$20 million in competitive external and internal research grants.

Dedicated to knowledge exchange between academia and society, Professor Au frequently contributed articles to leading newspapers and business magazines on branding, consumer behaviour, management and marketing communications. He also undertook consultancy projects for a range of public and private organisations, including the Hong Kong and U.S. Governments, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, District Boards, the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Cooperation of Guangzhou Municipality, A.S. Watson Asia Limited, and KONE Hong Kong.

At present, Professor Au continues to play an active role in professional and public service. He serves on the Advisory Group for Financial Education for Young Adults under the Investor and Financial Education Council, as well as the Research Ethics Committee of the Hong Kong Sanatorium Hospital Medical Group. He is also regularly invited by HKCAAVQ to act as Chair or expert panellist in the accreditation of academic programmes offered in Hong Kong and overseas.

Dr Coral Ingley holds a PhD in Corporate Governance from RMIT University, Melbourne, and degrees in Marketing and International Business from the University of Auckland. After corporate management roles in multinational and SME organisations, she developed a distinguished academic career over 30 years, most recently as Associate Professor at AUT University in Auckland. She has taught corporate governance in MBA programmes, for the Australian Chartered Professional Accounting qualification, and as a visiting professor in the Masters in Finance and Accounting at a University Business School in Pisa, Italy. Her academic expertise spans postgraduate research supervision, curriculum design, accreditation, and programme leadership.

Her scholarly research focuses on board behaviour, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and governance in small firms and urban contexts. She collaborates internationally, recently co-editing the Elgar Encyclopaedia of Corporate Governance (October 2024).

Coral is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) and CGI New Zealand, and serves on CGI Global’s Performance Standards Committee. She was Vice President of CGI NZ in 2019 and is currently a director of its Board. She also continues her long-standing contribution to the Division’s Education Performance Standards Committee, which she previously chaired.

Her governance experience includes directorships across not-for-profit organisations in Australia and New Zealand. She is an independent director of the Council of Australasian University Libraries (CAUL), representing 46 universities, overseeing significant procurement and collections of shared knowledge resources. She has also held board roles in international trade and economic advocacy, complementing earlier experience in corporate management and consulting.

Soodesh Jowaheer, FCG, MBA, Cert. Edn.
Soodesh is a highly regarded senior executive and governance professional with over two decades of leadership in international financial regulation, capital market development, and corporate governance. He joined the Professional Standards Committee in October 2024.

Soodesh currently serves on the Board of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (CGIUKI) and contributes actively to its Investment Committee as well as its Education and Learning Committee.

Soodesh’s career spans pivotal regulatory and governance roles. As Head of Securities Supervision at the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, he played a leading role in capital market development, contributed to the AML/CFT National Risk Assessment Report (2021) and promoted digital innovation in regulatory practice. Prior to this he served as Director of Regulatory Affairs & Compliance at a U.S. SEC-registered investment adviser, and previously as Senior Executive at the Mauritius Financial Services Commission and as the Head of Listing at the Mauritius Stock Exchange. His regulatory expertise extended internationally through consulting work with Grant Thornton on financial reform projects in Ghana.

From 2005 to 2007, he presided over the Mauritius Branch of CGIUKI and was a key contributor to Mauritius’ first National Code of Corporate Governance, developed in collaboration with Professor Mervyn King SC.

His governance and boardroom experience includes serving as Director of an Irish UCITS IV fund (approved by the Central Bank of Ireland), as well as board positions with investment advisory firms in India and Singapore (2015–2020). He also lectured on Financial Services Regulation in the MSc program at the University of Mauritius.

Soodesh’s contributions to governance have been recognized with the President’s Medal from CGIUKI, alongside numerous appointments to committees and advisory bodies at both national and global levels. He continues to advocate for robust standards, transparency, and governance innovation at national and global levels.

Fluent in English and French, he brings a distinctly international perspective to his work, combined with deep technical expertise. Soodesh is a Fellow member of CGIUKI and holds an MBA, an Associate Degree in HR, a Certificate in Education, and has completed executive programs at Harvard Law School and IOSCO.

Wisdom Ncube has been associated with The Chartered Governance Institute (formerly The Chartered Institute of Secretaries & Administrators) since 1991. Wisdom joined the Institute as a student of the Zimbabwe Division and completed his studies in 1996. Wisdom moved to North America and transferred his membership to the Canadian Division in 2008.

Wisdom started his involvement with the Canadian division through volunteering on the BC Branch Council and has served as a Director, Treasurer, Vice-President, and President of the BC Branch Board. Wisdom got involved with the National Board and the Committee for Canada beginning in 2015, occupying various positions on the Board/Committee including serving on the Education Committee, the Governance and Admissions Committee, the Audit and Risk Committee, and the Membership and Growth Services Committee, Chairing the meetings of the Growth and Sustainability Plan Task Team, Treasurer, President of the Canadian Division and now as the PastPresident and Board member of the Canadian Division. Wisdom also serves on the global Institute’s Professional Standards Committee (PSC).

In addition to his Chartered Governance Professional designation and involvement with the Chartered Governance Institute, Wisdom has several other designations, many in the field of Accounting and Finance (CPA, CA, FCCA, MBA, Acc.Dir.).

Over the years, he has served on boards of various not-for-profit organizations, including as President of the Fraser Valley CPA Association, an association of CPA members in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Wisdom has also served in various positions on other boards, including as Treasurer, Vice President, and Director-at-large, and served on board committees.

Wisdom owns an accounting firm (CPA) and works as a Sole Practitioner, offering business consulting services to his clients in addition to the accounting services offered by his firm. His clients are in various business sectors around the world. He has more than 25 years of experience in Accounting and Finance with extensive accounting experience including small business, independent and corporate environments. He has a strong background in providing leadership and supervision. He has been commended for having a great work ethic, and always willing to help others.

Professor Michael Adams is a specialist in Australian corporate law and international corporate governance. Michael has expertise in financial services, information governance, consumer protection and legal technology. In 2025 Michael moved to a portfolio role, including directorships and consultancies and Adjunct Professor of Law at UNE. 2019 to 2023 he was the Head of the University of New England Law School and in 2023-25 the Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus in Parramatta. From 2007 was the former Dean of Law at Western Sydney Law School and Professor of Corporate Law at UTS from 2001.

He teaches, writes, presents and regularly provides media commentary. He has published 12 books, 38 chapters, >130 articles and presented at >350 conferences/seminars in the last 35 years. Professor Adams’ holds degrees in accounting/economics and law, with postgraduate law studies at University College London; Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and the Australian Academy of Law; Member of Resolution Institute.

Former National President of GIA, current Director, and serves on the ICSA Professional Standards Committee. Former President of the Australasian Law Academics Association; the Society of Corporate Law Academics; deputy chair of the Australian Council of Law Deans. In 2020 named “Academic Lawyer of the Year” by Lawyers Weekly in the 20th Australian Law Awards. 2000 Australian University Teacher of the Year in “Law and Legal Studies” and recipient of the Governance Institute President’s Award.