HKBU Alumnus Mr. Stephen Tang Wing-on (Business Management)

The BUddy Post has interviewed alumnus Stephen Tang Wing-on, President of Hong Kong Baptist University Alumni Association (HKBUAA), who shared with us his experience in doing business and his roles in leading HKBUAA.

He Started his Education in Tai Po
It is hard to imagine a successful entrepreneur like alumnus Stephen Tang would call himself a “village boy”. Born and brought up in Tai Po, Stephen finished his primary school there before studying in St. Stephen’s College in Stanley. After secondary school, Stephen took the advice from his senior to study at the then Hong Kong Baptist College (HKBC) and studied Business Management. “I did not really know what higher education was all about when I first studied in HKBC. It was only after I paid my school fee and read the information that I came to realise that higher education meant I could wear a cap and a gown on my graduation day,” says Stephen with a smile.

Stephen explained that he chose Business Management as his major because his family had been doing business all along. His favourite subjects were Financial Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Upon graduation from HKBC, Stephen went to the Philippines to pursue his Master’s Degree in Business at the Asian Institute of Management. “The University I studied put much emphasis on entrepreneurial training. The professors were all very experienced and they invited many successful entrepreneurs to conduct lectures for us. This has fuelled my interest in establishing my own business,” shares Stephen.

He Started his Career in South East Asia
In the mid 70’s, Stephen returned to Hong Kong and started his career in financial service. He needed to do business in different countries in the South East Asia, which brought him an eye-opening experience. “I experienced different cultures and customs and met a lot of successful entrepreneurs. I learnt about their keys to success and acquired practical experience in doing business. “Apart from working, Stephen engaged himself in investment and speculation. “At that time, people who engaged in gold trading could only get updated price through telephone, which was relatively slow. This inspired me to think of starting up paging service to facilitate financial deals. In fact, I was one of the pioneers in providing this kind of financial information services.” Being the Chairman of Mega Pacific Capital Inc., Stephen is adept at investing in potential companies in Asia, helping them grow and ultimately become listed companies.

He is Committed to HKBU
In 2011, Stephen was elected as the President of HKBUAA and has been committed to expanding the alumni network since then. In just two years, the number of members of HKBUAA has increased from 2,100 in 2011 to 3,300 in 2012, representing a 57% increase. Stephen, however, is not satisfied with such an increment as he considers that the number of members is still relatively small, given the number of total HKBU alumni is reaching 70,000 in 2012. In other words, there is still a lot of growth potential. “Our Board Members are working very hard in membership recruitment, hoping that more alumni can join us in assisting HKBU’s development,” says Stephen. He continues, “We also aim high in leadership development and are putting efforts in two directions. First, we organise mentorship workshops whereby experienced alumni can share with students their working and life experience. In the past two years, HKBUAA has organised a number of workshops covering resume writing, interview skills, risk management and career development which provided practical trainings to fresh alumni. Second, we bring in some younger alumni to the Board, coaching them to be successors of future Board Members of HKBUAA.”

Looking ahead, Stephen would like to unite alumni to support the alma mater and lead HKBUAA to build up closer ties with alumni associations of other local universities to serve the local community particularly the education sector. As the first step, Stephen is now coordinating with the alumni associations of other seven universities to discuss the idea of forming a wine club. He hopes that there will be more cooperation opportunities in future.

Wine and Dine as Favourite Pastime
Stephen’s favourite pastime is “Wine and Dine”. He also writes food critics and reads books including Chinese classic poems, lyrics and prose. He has also learnt Chinese calligraphy, pottery and painting before. All these, he says, enriched his life.

He Encourages Students to Learn
As a closing note, Stephen encourages students and younger alumni to learn as much as they can in their career. “If you work overtime for an hour, it means you gain an additional hour of experience. Also, grasp the opportunity to do something that you have not done before. This is how you make progress. Finally, try to see more, learn more and think more. This is how you take yourself to the next level,” shares Stephen.

Please click here to register as a member of HKBUAA.

Interviewee’s Biography:
Alumnus Stephen Tang Wing-on is currently the Chairman of Mega Pacific Capital Inc.. He has been serving as Member of the Court, HKBU and Ex-officio Member of The Alumni Committee of the HKBU Foundation, President of Hong Kong Baptist University Alumni Association, Vice-President of Hong Kong Information Technology Federation and member of the Election Committee of HKSAR.