Board of Directors

Dr Raymond OR Ching Fai, aged 70, is Executive Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Company. He was appointed as Independent Non-executive Director of the Company in March 1996 and became Independent Non-executive Chairman of the Board since June 2012 until his re-designation as Executive Chairman and Executive Director effective 1 April 2018. He is also the chairman of the Nomination Committee and a member of the General Committee of the Board, a director of certain subsidiaries, and a trustee of a charitable trust of the Company. 
 

Dr OR was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Social Science by the City University of Hong Kong in November 2014. He is a non-executive director and non-executive chairman of China Strategic Holdings Limited, of which he was the former chief executive officer until he stepped down on 18 January 2018 and was executive director and executive chairman until his re-designation on 1 April 2018. He is also an independent non-executive director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited and Regina Miracle International (Holdings) 
Limited. Both companies are listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Stock Exchange"). Dr OR was the former vice chairman and chief executive of Hang Seng Bank Limited, the former chairman of Hang Seng Life Limited and a director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited until his retirement in May 2009. He was also the former vice chairman and independent non-executive director of G-Resources Group Limited, the former independent non-executive director of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited and Television Broadcasts Limited, and the former deputy chairman and non-executive director of Aquis Entertainment Limited (a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange).

Mr Anders Christian KRISTIANSEN, aged 53, has been appointed as an Executive Director of the Company and Group Chief Executive Officer since June 2018. He is a member of the Remuneration Committee and the General Committee of the Board, a director of certain subsidiaries, and a trustee of a charitable trust of the Company. Prior to joining Esprit, he was an industrial advisor for a global private equity fund, Permira. He was previously the chief executive officer and director of New Look, a global fast fashion apparel company based in London, from January 2013 to September 2017. Under his leadership, New Look transformed its business model from a traditional high street retailer to a strong omnichannel player, with an enhanced focus on brand building. Mr KRISTIANSEN was instrumental to the successful execution of a 5-year strategic plan. Prior to this role, he has held various senior executive roles in the Bestseller Fashion Group China, Staples Inc. in China and in Lyreco, an office supplies company, where he managed the business in Europe and then in Asia Pacific.

Dr Johannes Georg SCHMIDT-SCHULTES, aged 54, has been appointed as an Executive Director of the Company and Group Chief Financial Officer since October 2019. He is a member of the Risk Management Committee and the General Committee of the Board, and a director of certain subsidiaries of the Company. Dr SCHMIDTSCHULTES obtained his PhD in Finance from Ludwig Maximilians  University in Munich, Germany, and is an internationally experienced, fully-rounded finance executive. Dr SCHMIDT-SCHULTES has most recently served as chief financial officer and executive director of BMI Group Holdings UK Limited. He was the former chief financial officer and executive director of Apleona Group GmbH in 2017 and of Semperit AG Holding (a company listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange) from 2011 to 2017. He was the former deputy group chief financial officer of Telstra Corporation Limited (a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange) from 2007 to 2011. Prior to this role, Dr SCHMIDT-SCHULTES was the finance director and executive director of T-Mobile (UK) Limited (2004 – 2007) and T-Mobile Austria GmbH (2001 – 2004).

Mr Jürgen Alfred Rudolf FRIEDRICH, aged 81, founded Esprit's European operations in 1976 and has been a Non-executive Director of the Company since 1997. He is a member of the Audit Committee of the Board. Mr FRIEDRICH has over 32 years of experience in the apparel distribution and marketing business and is currently retired in Switzerland.

Mr Carmelo LEE Ka Sze, aged 59, has been an Independent Non-executive Director of the Company since July 2013. He is the chairman of the Risk Management Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee of the Board, and a trustee of a charitable trust of the Company. He is a partner of Messrs. Woo Kwan Lee & Lo, Solicitors & Notaries. He is appointed as a chairman of the Listing Review Committee of the Stock Exchange with effect from 5 July 2019. He is a convenor and  member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel of the Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong, a Chairman of the Appeal Tribunal Panel constituted under the Buildings Ordinance, a member of the InnoHK Steering Committee, a member of the Campaign Committee and a Co-Chairman of the Corporate Challenge Half Marathon of The Community Chest of Hong Kong. He served as the chairman of the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange from 2012 to 2015 after serving as deputy chairman and member of the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2012 and from 2000 to 2003 respectively. Mr LEE was a member of the SFC (HKEC Listing) Committee until 1 April 2018.

Mr LEE obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree and Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from The University of Hong Kong and qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong, England and Wales, Singapore and Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 
 

Mr LEE is a non-executive director of CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited, Safety Godown Company Limited and Playmates Holdings Limited and an independent non-executive director of KWG Group Holdings Limited (formerly known as KWG Property Holding Limited) and China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd., all these companies are listed on the Stock Exchange. He was a non-executive director of Hopewell Holdings Limited until May 2019, Yugang International Limited (now known as Planetree International Development Limited) until April 2019 and Termbray Industries International (Holdings) Limited until September 2019.

Ms Sandrine Suzanne Eleonore Agar ZERBIB, aged 58, has been appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director of the Company since October 2019. She is a member of the Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Risk Management Committee of the Board. She is the founder and chairman of Full Jet Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a Shanghai based and China focused 
brand management and digital agency specializing in digital brand strategy, e-commerce operations and 360 degree marketing. She is a member of the advisory board of Pictet Premium Brands Fund and the China board of Infront Sports & Media AG. She is also a director of Allure Systems, a start-up providing fashion companies with a solution for virtualized apparel enabling virtual try-on. 
 

Ms ZERBIB was the former non-executive chairman of Lacoste China and former executive director and chief executive officer of China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. (a company listed on the Stock Exchange). She was the managing director of adidas China from 1994 to 2003 and the president of adidas Greater China Area from 2003 to 2007. She was also a former director of Mecox Lane (a company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market).

Mr Joseph LO Kin Ching, aged 63, has been appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director of the Company since January 2020. He is the chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee of the Board. Mr LO is a chartered certified accountant, fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, United Kingdom, and a certified public accountant, fellow member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu ("Deloitte") in 1980 
and was a partner since 1988 until his retirement in 2016. He was chairman of Deloitte Hong Kong from 2006 to 2014 and chairman of Deloitte China from 2008 to 2014. He has 40 years of professional experience in providing auditing, financial advisory, restructuring, insolvency, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offering services.

Mr LO is a member of the Court of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a member of the Hospital Governing Committee of Queen Mary Hospital and Tsan Yuk Hospital, Hong Kong, a member of the College Council of Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong, a committee member of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Fund; a director of Hong Kong Design Centre Limited, and a member of the Finance Committee of M+ Museum. He is an independent non-executive director of ZA Bank Limited. He served  as a member of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, Hong Kong from 2013 to 2019. He was a member of the Committee of Overseers of Wu Yee Sun College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a member of 10th and 11th of Hebei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and an advisor to the China Accounting Standards Committee of the Ministry of Finance of China. He was the former chairman and executive director of Bisu Technology Group International Limited (a company listed on the Stock Exchange). He was an independent non-executive director of Radisson Hospitality AB (a company formerly listed on the stock exchange of Stockholm, Sweden).

Dr Martin WECKWERTH, aged 52, has been appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director of the Company since January 2020. He is the chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit Committee of the Board. Dr WECKWERTH has experience in fashion retail, also in relation to global brands. He joined Permira, a global private equity firm, in 1997 and was a partner from 2002 to 2016. He was part of the consumer team at Permira with focus on fashion retail and brands. Among other engagements Dr WECKWERTH was a member of the supervisory board of Valentino S.p.A and Hugo Boss AG. He is currently managing director of his family office MC Investments GmbH which engages in real estate and minority share investments. Dr WECKWERTH obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering (focus Mechanical Engineering) from Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany ("TU Darmstadt") and University of Illinois, United States of America, and a PhD in Economics from TU Darmstadt.