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Head of the Table with Mark Greenberg, Group Strategy Director of Jardines
23 June 2016 – Host’s residence, Midlevels, Hong Kong By Jack Masters, Associate at Standard Chartered
The Chamber’s “Head of the Table” dinners are hosted by the Emerging Leaders Committee and are designed to provide an opportunity for young professionals in Hong Kong to spend the evening with an industry leader. The evenings facilitate lively debate and discussion, in addition to providing cross-industry networking opportunities over the course of a delicious dinner. Our most recent Head of the Table was hosted by Mark Greenberg at his home in Midlevels. Having spent 16 years working in investment banking with Dresdner Kleinwort, Mark moved to Hong Kong in 2006 as Group Strategy Director of Jardines and has recently been appointed Chairman of the British Chamber. It was the eve of Brexit – the calm before the storm – and the big debate was in full flow on Mark’s balcony, as drinks were served alongside bacon-wrapped shrimp canapés that were almost as irresistible as the Hong Kong skyline that lay before us. From the moment we sat down to a deliciously chilled beetroot soup, it was clear that the evening was not going to be a typical Q&A. Instead, Mark opened up the floor, stressing that it was our views he was interested in, before he effortlessly ignited discussions ranging from experiences living or growing up in Hong Kong, the 2014 Protests, the “bookseller” and Tesla’s Hong Kong dominance.
It was the diversity in both age and industry amongst the diners, combined with the insightful experiences of Mark’s decade in Hong Kong that allowed for a thoroughly interesting blend of opinion and healthy debate. The evening concluded with a quite sublime summer-berry pie, paired with a light-hearted discussion of the European Football Championships and a “selfie” on the balcony. Although our two predictions for the evening – Britain to remain in the EU & England to play France in the quarter-final – have since been proven woeful, the evening itself was quite the opposite. Thank you to Jamie Harris and Marian Lau for organizing the evening, and especially to Mark for hosting us and allowing us to learn a great deal from his experiences in Hong Kong.
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