As Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) gears up for expansion, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) board announced the appointment of Fred Lam Tin-fuk as group CEO, succeeding the incumbent Stanley Hui Hon-chung.
The appointment will be effective October 1, 2014 for a term of three years.
During the transitional phase after Hui departs in mid-July and before Lam assumes the role, C K Ng, currently executive director of airport operations, will oversee the AA, the state-run operator and developer of HKIA, as acting CEO.
In welcoming Lam, Vincent Lo Hong-sui, chairman of AA, said, “As we are facing the imminent saturation of the two-runway system, and undertaking the critical tasks of planning and building the three-runway system and the North Commercial District, the AA needs to equip itself to tackle these challenges. This is an important moment in HKIA’s development, and Mr. Lam is the right leader to champion our plans and initiatives that will keep the airport competitive well into the future.”
Lo added that Lam and the AA team face the daunting task of ensuring that the organization is well placed not only to operate an efficient airport, but also to meet future growth needs and challenges.
He said, “In recent years, HKIA has been facing competition from other airports in the region that are aggressively expanding their facilities and services. Hong Kong cannot afford to be lagging behind. HKIA is a highly strategic asset for Hong Kong, and it must be allowed to continue to thrive and grow as the top aviation hub in the region.
“Therefore, we will dedicate additional resources to pursuing pivotal expansion plans, which include the three-runway system and the North Commercial District. In doing so, we must ensure that the AA’s management team can rise to future challenges as we implement these extensive development projects.”
Lam is the executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). Since joining HKTDC in 1986, Lam has held key directorate posts and spearheaded many promotional initiatives. He served as a deputy executive director from 1993 until April 2004, and then took up the position of executive director in May that year.
In 2007, Lam was named “Director of the Year” by the Hong Kong Institute of Directors under the category of statutory and non-profit-distributing organizations. In 2011, he was given the Peace through Commerce Medal from the United States Government in recognition of his leadership role in boosting U.S. exports to, and through, Hong Kong.
Born in 1958 and raised in Hong Kong, Lam graduated with a BSc. Engineering in Computing Science from the Imperial College of Science and Technology at the University of London. In 1999, he completed the Stanford Executive Programme at Stanford University.
Lam is a Justice of the Peace.
