JEFF NANKIVELL
Consul General of Canada, Hong Kong & Macao
Mr. Jeff Nankivell became Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao in August 2016.
From 2011 to 2016, Jeff served as Director General responsible for Canada’s official development assistance in Asia, first with the Canadian International Development Agency and then with Global Affairs Canada.
Jeff has been posted three times to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing: in the development assistance section 1991-95 and 2000-2004, and as Deputy Head of Mission (deputy ambassador) 2008-2011. He is fluent in Mandarin.
He also held various positions at the Canadian International Development Agency between 1988 and 2008, working on programs related to China, Russia, strategic policy and international financial institutions.
Jeff holds an M.Sc. in political sociology from the London School of Economics, B.A. in international relations from the University of Toronto, and a certificate (one-year program) in Chinese language and culture from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
RON HOFFMANN
Alberta Senior Representative for the Asia Pacific Basin, Government of Alberta
Ron Hoffmann, appointed as Alberta’s Senior Representative for the Asia Pacific Basin in the fall of 2014, is a western Canadian who has dedicated most of his professional life advancing Canada’s interests on the world stage. He has spent much of his diplomatic career in Asia, including serving as Ambassador to Afghanistan during the height of Canada’s military, diplomatic and development deployment.
He was Ambassador to Thailand, with cross-accreditation to Burma, Cambodia and Laos, and served in the Canadian Embassy in Beijing as Commercial and Economic Counsellor. Earlier in his career, he held key positions in Canadian missions in London, Johannesburg and The Hague.
In Ottawa, Mr. Hoffmann was most recently Director General for Strategic Policy at Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. From 2012-2013, he was Senior Advisor on Asia Strategy and Policy, reporting to Canada's Chief Trade Commissioner. Ron has served on advisory boards and leadership councils and lectures frequently on foreign policy and international affairs. He was elected in 2016 to the Executive Committee of the Canadian Chamber in Hong Kong, the largest Canadian Business Chamber outside of Canada. He was subsequently appointed Vice Chairman (External Relations).
Based in Hong Kong, Mr. Hoffmann works closely with Alberta's international offices across the region to promote high level and outcome-oriented engagement among Alberta government and business leaders and Asian counterparts. He is Alberta's senior voice in Asia, fostering greater awareness of opportunities to establish and expand trade, investment, innovation and governance partnerships.
PROF. ALBERT PC CHAN
Head and Chair Professor, Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Professor Albert PC Chan is currently Head of Department of Building and Real Estate, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, and Chair Professor of Construction Engineering and Management. He was Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment from 2011 to 2013, and from 2013 to 2014 respectively.
For more than three decades, he has conducted research on a wide range of topics across the broad field of construction engineering and management, including construction health and safety, project success, construction partnering, and public-private-partnership.
Professor Chan's outstanding contributions have earned him a string of awards and prizes, including the Hong Kong Institute of Project Management Achievement Awards (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018), the Asia Pacific Project Management Achievement Awards (2014, 2017, 2018), the First Class Scientific Advancement Award (2016), Grand Award in the Community Excellence category, Distinguished Knowledge Transfer Awards (2016), Gold Medals in the 36th and 44th International Exhibition Inventions, New Techniques and Product, Geneva, Switzerland (2008, 2016), Premier Award of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) International Innovation & Research Awards in the Innovation Achiever’s Award Category (2008, 2015), and Local Grand Prize Winner of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) Innovation Award (2015).
THOMAS J. TIMMINS
Leader of Gowling WLG's China Initiative, and the Global Renewable Energy Practice Group
Thomas J. Timmins is Chair of Gowling WLG Canada’s China Initiative. He is widely recognized as a leading lawyer in energy, P3 project development, infrastructure and commercial transactions. Tom has led several of the firm's most significant power and infrastructure sector transactions and acts regularly for a wide range of corporations, investors, governments and financial institutions around the world.
LUC LISSOIR
Partner, Gowling WLG
Luc Lissoir is a partner based in the Montréal office of Gowling WLG. He practises in securities and corporate and commercial law, with a particular emphasis on public and private securities offerings, project financing, private equity, M&A transactions and general corporate counselling.
Luc has assisted parties on the sale or purchase of various P3 asset portfolios and the establishment of infrastructure investment platforms. In addition, he regularly acts on behalf of institutional investors and sponsors in connection with the formation of various types of private equity and debt funds in Canada and internationally and their downstream investments.
ADAM LEWINBERG
Partner, Gowling WLG
Adam Lewinberg is a partner in Gowling WLG's Toronto office. His practice focuses on complex government and quasi-government procurement and large multifaceted construction projects, including public-private partnership (P3) projects, large complex transmission distribution projects and projects in Canada's North and other remote areas.
Adam has a wide range of experience throughout the P3 project lifecycle, having helped clients manage procurement, construction, project operations, facilities maintenance and dispositions of P3 projects (including defaults and restructurings).
SOPHIA CHAN-COMBRINK
Executive Director, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
Sophia Chan-Combrink is the Executive Director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. As such, Sophia is accountable for managing and overseeing the day-to-day operation of the Chamber’s full time staff in implementing its strategic and financial plans. She was previously the Head of Education and Society at the British Council providing strategic leadership to the East Asia region, including Hong Kong.
Sophia has over 20 years of experience working in the private, government and non-profit sectors in Hong Kong, Canada and South Africa. From Toronto, Sophia holds a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto.