Honorary University Fellows
Citation delivered by Professor Weng Cho CHEW, Dean of Engineering
Ir Dr Allan Chi Yun WONG is the Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of VTech Holdings Limited.
Dr Wong holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hong Kong, a Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in the United States and an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Over thirty years ago, Dr Wong co-founded VTech Holdings Limited because he was passionate about innovation and technology. At that time, VTech had only forty staff working in a 2000-square-foot office and made electronic games.
Anticipating the opportunities that would accompany the invention of the microprocessor, Dr Wong co-created the company’s first electronic learning product in 1980, which was an instant success, and later extended VTech’s technology into cordless telephones and contract manufacturing.
Under Dr Wong’s leadership, VTech has grown to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of corded and cordless telephones and electronic learning products. The company now operates in ten regions around the world, with global sales in excess of US$1 billion, and it launches more than 80 innovative products each year.
And even though VTech employs many R&D specialists in different countries, Dr Wong continues to lead the Group’s new product and technology development himself. Technology and innovation are what interest him and drive him intellectually. His focus on them never wavers.
Mr Wong was voted one of the world’s top 25 executives by Business Week in 1998, and Businessman of the Year in the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards. He has won the Chiang Technology Achievement Award and has been described by Asiaweek as one of Asia’s business leaders for the millennium.
Dr Wong is a Member of this University’s Council and an Honorary Advisor of the HKU Foundation. Dr Wong is a Member of the Commission on Strategic Development under the Central Policy Unit and the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council. He is an independent non-executive director of The Bank of East Asia Limited, China-Hong Kong Photo Products Holdings Limited and Li & Fung Limited.
Dr Wong was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1995, awarded an MBE in 1997, a Silver Bauhinia Star in 2003 and a Gold Bauhinia Star in 2008.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Ir Dr Allan Chi Yun WONG for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia.