Blind Spots At The Top – Why Homogenous Leadership Fails

Eileen brings more than 25 years of business development and consulting experience across markets world-wide, including Europe and the US, with 20 of those years in Asia-Pacific, and based in Hong Kong. She was latterly a leader in the Client & Industry team at EY (Asia Pacific) Ltd, focused on the financial services industry, and she worked closely with technology partners to drive digital transformation for clients across the region. A qualified Non-Executive Director, Eileen brings a strong governance perspective to discussions on board composition, effective decision-making and the risks of groupthink.
As a passionate champion of social inclusion and diversity, Eileen is the Chair of the British Chamber’s Women in Business committee driving growth in membership and increasing the focus on advocacy and policy work with government. Eileen is a member of The Women’s Foundation (TWF) Allies Circle and was a mentor on the 2021/22 cohort of the TWF mentoring programme.

For 15 years, Eileen successfully led fundraising for The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation in Hong Kong raising several million dollars from events and corporate sponsorship, and today she sits on the board of the Royal Geographic Society as well as the fundraising board of Inspiring Girls, where the vision is “to empower the next generation of female leaders in Hong Kong”. This hands-on board experience, combined with her governance training, informs her interest in how diverse perspectives shape better boardroom decisions.

Eileen holds the internationally renowned Financial Times Non-Executive Director (NED) diploma and a BSc in Biology from Goldsmith’s, University of London. A permanent resident of Hong Kong, Eileen is originally from the UK, of Irish ancestry, and takes advantage of living in a city by the sea from hiking the many trails or swimming in the seas around Clearwater Bay and Sai Kung. She earned her marine boat driving license at the first attempt in 2007.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• With my board and NGO involvement, I make it a personal goal to raise sustainability/ESG reporting as a discussion item wherever I sit on a board this year, if it isn’t already on the agenda.
• Hong Kong’s landfills are close to capacity and the government has shelved the municipal waste-charging scheme for now, so personal habits (including mine) matter more than the policy currently in place. The government could be encouraging residents to be properly set up with the colour-coded recycling bins (blue/yellow/brown) rather than relying on general waste.
• On a personal level, I have tried to minimise my flights, or at least offset the ones that I take. Also I am attempting to “buy nothing new” for the next three months, especially clothing — Hong Kong’s fast-fashion culture makes this challenging but meaningful.

Victoria Wisniewski Otero is the Founder & CEO of Resolve Foundation, an award-winning Hong Kong s88 nonprofit organization whose vision is for a Hong Kong where everyone belongs and upholds inclusion. Resolve’s core programs include a flagship Community Changemaker Fellowship for emerging social inclusion leaders. Its model includes one of Hong Kong’s first participatory grantmaking model. Resolve also runs Stand By Me, a program in local secondary schools to promote more inclusive campuses through youth-led solutions.

She was formerly the Advocacy and Campaigns Manager at Justice Centre Hong Kong, Researcher at the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) and UN HABITAT. In 2020, Victoria became part of Voice for Social Good, an NGO Taskforce of Women Leaders in response to COVID 19. From 2019-2020, she sat on the Membership Advisory Group of the CIVICUS Global Alliance’s Solidarity Fund. She has also been an advisor for Public Interest Law Network’s Law For Change Student Competition.

Victoria was honored with Prestige’s Women of Power in 2025, the AmCham Women of Influence Award in 2020, Tatler’s 2018 Generation T List. In 2026, she was also listed under Diversity Hub’s Pillars of Our Community. She is a proud mother of four kids under five and passionate about making Hong Kong more family-friendly for everyone regardless of their background. She lives in “Asia’s World Village” of Mui Wo, where she has discovered the joys of trail runs, open water swimming and Lantau’s rich biodiversity.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• I would like to promote the concept of micro-inclusions more among the general public. Resolve would like to do more public exhibitions and public-awareness storytelling campaigns on this in the coming years.
• I want to ensure that the next generation of young people in Hong Kong are champions for a more equal and inclusive society, that they feel empowered to take steps to be allies.
• There is much room for more collaboration between civil society groups on the intersection of diversity and inclusion and climate change. Let’s break down these siloes more. Rethink is a place to start.

Rebecca Sharpe is the Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director on the Board of Cathay. She is also a director on the boards of a number of the Cathay Group subsidiary companies. Before joining Cathay in January 2021, Rebecca held senior finance positions for the Swire Group in the Chinese Mainland, Singapore and immediately prior to joining Cathay, as Group Director Finance at Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited.

Rebecca began her career with KPMG in the UK and, prior to joining the Swire Group in 2008, she worked for Rolls-Royce plc in the UK and in Hong Kong.

Rebecca is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

In her role as Chief Financial Officer, Rebecca has responsibility for the Group’s financial reporting, corporate financing, taxation, Global Business Services, and sustainability. She also provides supports to the following teams – Group Internal Audit, Group Opportunities and Risks, Group Legal and Compliance. Rebecca is also a co-sponsor of the Cathay Gender Equity Network.

As a current member of the Male Allies Leadership Council (MALC) at The Womens Foundation (TWF), Tristan Strobl is passionate about promoting diversity and working within and across different organisations to assist them to overcome challenges women face in the workplace.

He led a number of initiatives and events during his time at BlackRock Asset Management including facilitating TWF ‘Influencer Circle’ discussions with men and women participating from a number of industries. The themes of these sessions ranged across a number of topics and focused on creating a more equitable and inclusive workplace, including care-giving, womens’ health, masculinity and how to speak up as an active ally.

Tristan is a Compliance professional who has held senior roles both on the buy side and sell side. At BlackRock he was the Asia Pacific compliance lead for equities trading and investment management. He has extensive experience leading teams and partnering with the business and stakeholders to manage compliance risk across sales and trading, investment management, research and equity and debt capital markets. Prior to BlackRock, he also held senior roles at Goldman Sachs, UBS and CITIC Securities. He has expertise in problem solving for new markets, issues and products, as well as managing strategic projects to build out Compliance capabilities, including building out Compliance functions in India.

The Women’s Foundation is a Hong Kong NGO dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. At the heart of their work is the belief that every person has the ability to create positive change in our own sphere of influence. When enough people do that, those actions create ripple effects that can transform workplaces, communities and ultimately society. But creating that future requires all of us to play a role, across genders, sectors and communities. That’s why TWF’s approach is deliberately holistic. They combine research, programmes, education and advocacy, working across individuals, organisations and communities because progress depends on action across all parts of society.

TWF supports girls to develop skills and confidence in STEM. They help underserved women build resilience, wellbeing and economic opportunity. They equip women to advance into leadership. And they engage young men to become allies and advocates for gender equality. Across all this work, their goal is simple: to empower more inclusive leaders, workplaces and communities. Because individual action, multiplied across families, organisations and communities, is how lasting change happens.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

I would like to see discussion of sustainability and how we want our future to look, talked about across industries in Hong Kong. In particular I would like to see government and corporate leaders in Hong Kong encourage young people, women and minorities to find their voice so that they can participate and make a more inclusive, dynamic and holistic society. The future of Hong Kong is dependent on promoting equity, participation and education. By fostering awareness of the challenges faced and leading by example our leaders can set the tone for all industries to make a greater effort to encourage and promote young people, women and minorities participation in our workforce. It is only by inclusion and working together for all those in Hong Kong that we can create a more sustainable future for our society. For this reason I am active in The Womens Foundation and the financial industry as a Male Ally.

Olivia Wong is the General Manager – Environmental & Social Responsibility at MTR Corporation Ltd and is responsible for formulating and implementing clear and effective strategies in achieving MTR’s social and environmental objectives and in championing the corporation’s ESG efforts and commitments.
Prior to joining MTR, Olivia spent her entire professional career with the Swire group in different business units including Cathay Pacific and Swire Properties. Her last role in John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd was the Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion where she developed a coherent diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) strategy and aligned D&I initiatives across the Swire Group.

At Swire Properties Ltd. she was the Director HR & Administration and prior to that she was General Manager – Leadership Development at John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd with responsibility for recruiting and fostering talent for the Swire Group. She started her career in Cathay Pacific and held leadership roles in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Europe.

Olivia graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of California, Berkeley and has an MBA from the University of Michigan. She is a resolute volunteer with Habitat for Humanity since 2005 and recently stepped down as Chair of Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong after serving on the board for nine years. She continues to serve as a director on Habitat for Humanity International board. She has joined the board of ImpactHK in September 2025.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

My personal hope for Hong Kong in 2026 and beyond is that sustainability becomes understood and practised as an inseparable balance between environmental and social impact. We need to move beyond recognising this relationship in theory, and embed it in the way decisions are made, partnerships are formed, and progress is measured. I also hope Hong Kong will embrace the opportunities of AI responsibly — ensuring this powerful technology accelerates climate and sustainability solutions while helping to build a more equitable society where everyone can benefit. Above all, I hope to see deeper and more genuine partnership across civil society, with government, corporates, educational institutions and NGOs working together with shared purpose to build a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient Hong Kong.