Welcome to the first edition of your redesigned and renamed journal. Following the launch of our Institute’s new logo, tagline and brand identity last month, this first edition of CGj, appropriately, introduces the new brand and looks at the road ahead now that this last essential component of our repositioning plan is in place.

Before turning to the future ahead of us, I think a brief glance over our shoulders at the journey that has taken us to this ‘new beginning’ is in order. That journey has been the work of many members of our profession, including current and former presidents, Council members, chief executives and Secretariat staff. They have succeeded in giving us a new designation, a new qualifying programme and a newly named professional Institute that will be much better placed to promote the profession’s purpose and values.

I would like to thank in particular Edith Shih FCG(CS, CGP) HKFCG(CS,CGP)(PE), The Chartered Governance Institute Past International President, and Institute Past President, for leading the name change initiative.
Thanks are also due to Immediate Past Institute President, Gillian Meller FCG HKFCG(PE), and the members of our Rebranding Working Group, chaired by Institute Vice-President, Paul Stafford FCG HKFCG, as well as our Institute Chief Executive Ellie Pang FCG HKFCG, Institute Deputy Chief Executive Mohan Datwani FCG HKFCG(PE) and our Secretariat staff who put in a lot of hard work to ensure that our rebranding initiative reached its successful conclusion last month.

That roll call of gratitude is not, of course, comprehensive. One of the key ingredients of our Institute’s success has been its ability to rely upon the expertise, guidance and good judgement of senior members of the profession and other partners in our work. This has been particularly true of the transition our profession has made over the last decade and thanks are due to everyone, credited and uncredited, who contributed to this endeavour.

Turning to the theme of this month’s journal, our cover story asks how we can take forward our work now that the basic foundations of our new brand identity are in place. This month’s In Profile interview, with our Chief Executive Ellie Pang, also addresses this question. Ellie’s experience before she took up the helm of our Secretariat, as a lawyer and working for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, gives her a valuable perspective on how Institute members can step up their game, particularly in terms of educating and guiding directors in compliance and governance matters.

Finally, I look forward to working with you all in this next chapter of our evolution. As the Immediate Past Chair of the Financial Reporting Standards Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Technical Partner of Deloitte, I know the importance of setting standards for benchmarking. I am confident that the Institute’s work and thought leadership, which we take pride in, will be regarded as the benchmark for good governance in the years ahead.

The foundations of our new identity are now in place. We are part of an international movement in promoting excellence in governance. Our Institute is the China Division of The Chartered Governance Institute, with nine divisions across the globe, and we also have the backing of our affiliate organisations, local and global. Our new brand identity better reflects the value we can bring to the organisations we work for and gives us a mission statement for what we stand for. It only remains for us to rise to the challenges ahead and fulfil the great promise of our profession.