Please join us in congratulating our 2015 Inspiration Award Gala Honorees; Apex is honored to host them at our upcoming gala.
Ronnie C. Chan
Ronnie C. Chan is Chairman of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited. He co-founded the Morningside group; helped found the Calgary, Canada based Morningside Music Bridge for young classical musicians; founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund; is a co-founding director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation, Beijing; and is an Advisor and former Vice President of China Development Research Foundation in Beijing. Internationally, Mr. Chan is Co-Chair of the Board of Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, a Director of the Board of Peterson Institute for International Economics, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Committee of 100. He is also Founding Chairman Emeritus of Asia Business Council. He serves or has served on the governing or advisory bodies of several think tanks including World Economic Forum, East-West Center, Pacific Council on International Policy, and The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation.
Mr. Chan’s commitment to education is evidenced by his many educational endeavors. He is a Court member of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a founding member of the International Advisory Board of School of Management at Fudan University, a Trustee of University of Southern California, and a Governing Board member of Indian School of Business. He is also on the President’s Council on International Activities at Yale University, the International Advisory Council of The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, the International Advisory Committee of The Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College, and the International Advisory Committee of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University. He is a Guest Professor at Tsinghua University and Nanjing University.
Mr. Chan is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has published numerous articles in International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Newsweek, Fortune, Asian Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review and Japan Times. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California, a Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa from Tel Aviv University, and honorary doctorate degrees in social sciences from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The Chinese University of Hong Kong respectively. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Asia Society Leadership Award, the Highest Alumni Award of the University of Southern California, the Outstanding Persons Award for the Preservation of Chinese Cultural Relics, and the US-Asia Institute Award for International Public Service and Philanthropy.
Gregory Yep
Gregory Yep is the former Senior Vice President of Research and Development at PepsiCo. He had responsibility for long term science based strategies for core ingredients and their impact on food, flavor, metabolism and nutrition to drive breakthrough innovation for growth across all of the PepsiCo products globally. His groups included Global Flavor and Ingredient Technology, Biology Innovation, Crop Science, Sustainability and Technology Scouting. He was also responsible for the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), a facility aimed at expanding knowledge on sports nutrition and exercise science that enhanced the performance and well-being of athletes. He currently serves on multiple Boards including the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Sports Science Advisory Council, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALs), Top Institute of Food Nutrition (TIFN) and the Cisco Systems Global Manufacturing Advisory Board.
Gregory has also held the role of Global Vice President, Application Technologies at Givaudan Flavors and Fragrances. While there, he led a diverse global technology group and was responsible for R&D of taste and flavor delivery technology worldwide. And with more than a decade of work experience at McCormick & Company in roles of increasing responsibility for food science, he brings a wealth of consumer expertise to his new role. He is recognized for his contributions to numerous patents, scientific publications and lectures to the scientific community.
He received a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University, a master’s degree from the same university in organic chemistry, and a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.
It was at Penn where he started his 30-year journey in flavors and food where he conducted research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Smell and Taste Center. He currently resides in New Canaan, CT, with his wife Helen and his 3 children. He is very active in tennis and golf and often participates in USTA events.