Over the last three years, the Shadow a CEO Programme has opened the eyes and minds of 64 successful participants as they shadowed one of 24 executives from industries including aviation, retail, events management, engineering, telecommunications, automobiles and NGOs.
Anson Lo See-chai, who is in the final year of a BBA in insurance, financial and actuarial analysis at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, shadowed Stanley Yau, director of human resources and administration at Hong Kong Airlines, in December 2016. He found the opportunity to attend executive meetings particularly enlightening.
“The meetings were invaluable opportunities which we normally would not have,” he pointed out. “We could learn in person how senior executives manage their teams and, within a split second, come up with feasible recommendations for various issues.”
For Moon Yiu Sik-yuet, who shadowed entrepreneur Andy Ann, the founder and CEO of NDN Group, during the same period, the highlight was taking part in the interactive sessions with Ann and the other participants.
“We had a chance to brainstorm ideas for a start-up,” said Yiu, who graduated last year from Imperial College London with a BSc in biochemistry. “This allowed us to create a top-to-bottom mind map of what we planned to do and what we needed, and also helped us decide whether or not our values aligned or if we could each play a different role in such a business.”
For Vincent Tse, a student of business management and engineering at the University of the West of England, seeing Thales Transport & Security (HK) CEO Henry Cheung in action during executive meetings made him appreciate the challenges in dealing with multiple stakeholders.
“It provided insight into the balancing act required to satisfy everyone in the company,” he said. “It was interesting to see how the CEO calmed down conflicts and got people to work together.”
When Jacqueline Crawford shadowed Benjamin Vuchot, region president, Asia north at DFS Group, she gained valuable insight into what it takes to make a retail giant tick.
“Benjamin takes the time to ensure that everyone he works with feels acknowledged for their efforts, and the result is a positive employee culture, be that in the office or on the shop floor.”
Crawford, a business management graduate from the University of Buckingham, added that after the experience she felt more ready to enter the world of work after graduating.
“This experience taught me so much about the level of diligence and resilience that it takes to succeed, and it has been a powerful lesson in the importance of having a long-term vision for your career,” she said.
Bonnie Mak, a final-year student studying English literature at the University of Hong Kong, found her time at the Hong Kong Jockey Club shadowing Leong Cheung, the club’s executive director of charities and community, to be an extremely enlightening experience.
“There is a general misconception about philanthropy. [People think] that it is an easy job to give out money and that the process requires little effort. Yet, the whole shadowing programme for us was, in essence, proof of the opposite.
“From receiving funding proposals to making decisions, the whole process requires a lot of effort, time and patience. The experience changed my understanding of philanthropy and allowed me to dive into the club’s funding strategies.
