Why Increasingly “Outer Space” Will Play Centre Stage in Sustainability for Our Leaders of Tomorrow

Prof. Gregg Li – Systems Builder and Technopreneur

Gregg is the founding director and President of the Orion Astropreneur Space Academy (OASA) whose aim is to nurture future technopreneurs. Educated as a systems engineer and organizational and technology architect, Dr. Li has had over four decades of experience helping leading companies and enduring family businesses find common grounds for transformation and adopt management practices for hyper-change and growth. Having worked with, personally coached and mentored, high-flyers with global players while he was with Aon, American Express, Citibank, Protiviti, and PWC, he is now helping family businesses and government entities overcome their technology adoption and challenges.

In addition, as an organizational and technology troubleshooter, he has shared his know-how when he can, as an Adjunct Professor – such as with the University of Hong Kong, PolyU, CUHK, U. of Chicago, and Tsinghua University for example, since 1993. From time to time, he enjoys teaching on esoteric subjects like Applied Corporate Governance for Families, the Management of Technologies and Transformation, and Space Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Li has also been engaging in public service since his return to Hong Kong in the 90’s. He has served as a board member of Cyberport (2017 – 2019), of the Urban Renewal Authority (2015 – 2019), and of the eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre (2021 – 2023). As an advisor, he has advised the Lab for Space Research at HKU (since 2021); the Tech London Advocates in London (since 2013), the Asian American MultiTech Association in PRD (since 2021), and a dozen tech start-ups in Asia. He has been an Academic Fellow of the International Council of Management Consulting Institute (Since 2020), a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology in Hong Kong (Since 2022); a member of the International Council of Washington University in St. Louis (2000 – 2012), and a Governance and Technology Board Advisor with Protiviti (2020 – 2022).

Dr Li is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, UCLA, HKU, and Warwick University. His applied research interests have ranged from complexity thinking, family business governance, innovation to systems leadership.

李嘉樂博士，未來學家及OASA執行主席

李博士向來是一位未來學家及顛覆革新者。他同時是位經驗豐富的連續創業家(serial entrepreneur)、初創企業教練、太空創業教授，與及跨國公司和家族企業的治理顧問。最重要的，他是青年領袖的培育家和投資者。他是一位「太空經濟企業家」(Astropreneur)。

李博士桃李滿門，他很多學生和學員正領導着麥肯錫，微軟和華為等全球頂尖企業。他退休前曾親自教授和指導怡安集團、美國運通、花旗銀行、IBM 和羅兵咸永道等國際知名企業中的成功人士；退休後仍繼續在不同大學執教及輔導，指導如太空經濟及創業等高深奧妙的科目。

在他的過百學員中， 有成為國際頂尖顧問公司合夥人，跨國企業的全球主管和初創企業的創辦人。他們和李博士同行，一起探索，一起改創經濟未來，讓 明天會更美好。

李博士是創星匯(OASA)創會主席、現同時是 香港大學太空科學碩士課程的客席教授，以及十多間智庫和大學的顧問。

李博士畢業於美國聖路易斯華盛頓大學文科學院, 並持有夏威夷大學經濟碩士學位、加州大學洛杉磯分校工商管理碩士學位，以及英國華威大學工程學博士學位及香港大學佛學研究碩士學位。

Max Lee is the co-founder and CTO of LifeSparrow Solutions Limited, a pioneering company dedicated to revolutionizing Search and Rescue (SAR) operations through advanced, AI-driven aerial technology. Under his leadership, the company’s innovative SAR platform has been instrumental in saving lives and has received widespread recognition from prominent media outlets, including CNN International, the South China Morning Post (SCMP), and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK).

Max’s exceptional contributions to the field have earned him a place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), among other accolades. Currently, Max is pursuing a PhD at PolyU, where he is a recipient of the prestigious Hong Kong PhD Fellowship. His research focuses on drones and seamless positioning systems, aiming to advance technology and its applications within the low-altitude economy. Through his work, Max seeks to bridge the gap between academic research and practical, real-world solutions, continually pushing the boundaries of drone technology and positioning systems to make a meaningful impact.

My sustainability goals for 2024:

• Sustainable Technologies and Optimizing Resource Allocation
• Environmental Impact Reduction via Predictive Monitoring Using Space and Aerial Data

Professor Quentin A Parker, PhD, BSc (hons), FRAS, FASA

Quentin Parker obtained a PhD from the University of St. Andrews in 1986 and joined the faculty at the University of Hong Kong in March 2015 to take up the Headship of the Department of Physics. In 2017 he became Associate Dean (Global) of the Faculty of Science and Director of the Laboratory for Space Research (see https://www.lsr.hku.hk/). Prior to that Quentin worked at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (1986-1992), Anglo-Australian observatory (1992-1999), Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh (1999-2002) and then in joint position with the AAO and Macquarie University (2002-2015) where he developed and was director of the MQ research centre in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Astrophotonics growing membership from 2 staff when he arrived to 50 when he left. Research activities are mainly but not exclusively associated with Wide Field Astronomy (including being PI for the UKST H-alpha survey), large-scale redshift surveys, Galactic Archaeology, supernova remnants and especially Planetary Nebulae where he has discovered more PNe than anyone in history of the field. He leads the Hong-Kong/AAO/Strasbourg H-alpha PNe project. He has also extensive experience as an instrumentalist with multi-object fibre-optic spectrographs and narrow-band filters. In the last 8 years he has taken a strong interest in the Chinese Space program and the emerging NewSpace economy. He contributes regularly on this topic on various fora, including TV, radio and newspaper articles where he is a regular opinion contributor to the South China Morning Post and China Daily.
Academically he has published more than 595 papers and articles of which ~300 are refereed and has more than 22,000 citations with a h-index of 70. He has supervised and co-supervised about 30 PhD, MSc/MPhil and honours students to successful completion and is always keen to attract students. Quentin also has a long-term interest in Chinese Bronze artifacts and cultural heritage, interdisciplinary studies and science pedagogy.

My sustainability goals for 2024:

1. Serious and proper engagement of the HKSAR government via direct policy initiatives to promote investment in the NewSpace sector so that HKSAR can take advantage of the burgeoning opportunities arising in this sector.
2. Turbo-charged investment in ESG goals and blue and green carbon initiatives – Shenzhen’s public transport is almost all electric -why not ours? Why only one wind turbine on Lamma etc etc etc.

Iris leads new businesses and corporate transformation in FMCG, digital, Fintech and Protech with a proven track record to invigorate businesses using data, technology, and a customer centered approach. She brings over 20 years of management experience with major multi-national corporations, startups and non-profit organizations in Hong Kong, UK, the United States, Asia Pacific and Greater China.

Iris is currently on the International Advisory Board of Orion Astropreneur Space Academy (OASA) to build the new ecosystem on Space and its economy for Hong Kong. She was also on the Board of Invotech (2015 – 2020), a not-for-profit with focus to build smart businesses for Smarter Hong Kong. Major project included the Smart Energy with CLP and partners.

She was formerly the MD, Greater China for Opportunity Network; a UK-based platform (under the London Mayor’s program) for curated cross-border business targeting Ultra High Network Individuals and family offices.

Iris has strong empathy for youth leaders. She held the position as Regional Vice President for 10 countries in APAC for Enactus. At Enactus, Iris aligned governments and corporations with universities to build an ecosystem of students who felt empowered and capable to impact social, economic and environmental issues (SDG). Other than fundraising, Iris and her team developed and deployed over 2,000 social entrepreneurship programs for over 6,000 students across 197 universities. Select projects were presented at the Global Economic Forum.

Iris believes in a future focused on collaboration. She advises for multiple Silicon Valley and UK startups focused on strategies and new market entries. She also supports the startups in Hong Kong. Through her active community engagement, Iris has built a valuable network for the future.

She holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and certifications from University of Michigan’s Ross School of Management, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Over the pandemic years, Iris also took training on “Managing Emotional Intelligence at times of Risk and Uncertainty” and Forest Bathing.