HONG KONG, May 26, 2026 - (ACN Newswire) - The Hong Kong Institute of Directors (HKIoD) has officially announced that nominations are now open for the HKIoD Awards for Director Excellence 2026. This flagship award programme continues to serve as a cornerstone for promoting outstanding corporate governance and director professionalism across Hong Kong.

This year's Awards theme, Navigating Through Disruptive Forces in Challenging Times, underscores the resilience required by modern boards to steer their organisations steadily through rapid digital transformations, macroeconomic shifts, and evolving stakeholder expectations.

In its 26th edition, HKIoD will once again present its signature accolades across three critical governance pillars: the Directors of the Year Award, the Climate Governance Award, and the Social Impact Award. These honours go beyond simple recognition; they celebrate visionary leaders who deeply embed corporate governance, climate governance, and social sustainability in the core of their business frameworks.

Mr Richard Tsang, Chairman of HKIoD, during his keynote address, stated: "As fellow directors, we serve as stewards of corporate governance, tasked with balancing the interests of all stakeholders. This year’s theme perfectly captures the prevailing uncertainties we face today—times are undeniably tough, yet we continue to forge ahead with resolve. Through this impactful initiative, we remain deeply committed to honouring role models, fostering peer learning, and raising the overall standard of corporate governance in Hong Kong."

Mr Jonathan Shea, CEO of HKIoD, introduced the key highlights and arrangements for the 2026 project cycle and encouraged eligible candidates to submit their nominations well ahead of the deadline.

Insights from Distinguished Past Awardees

The briefing session featured an insightful panel discussion, titled "Distinguished Directors' Insights", moderated by Mr Vincent Chan (Council Member & Chairman of the Awards Organising Committee). Three distinguished past awardees shared their experiences on how rigorous board oversight translates into organisational resilience:

- Mr Alvin Lee (Executive Director, FSE Lifestyle Services Limited) highlighted the critical need for forward-looking governance in the face of technological shifts. He noted that boards must proactively embrace technology rather than passively approve management decisions. For instance, establishing dedicated AI committees can help organisations seamlessly integrate digital tools into daily practices like cost analysis and ESG tracking.

- Ms Helen Li (Group Chief Auditor, The Bank of East Asia Limited) discussed strengthening risk and audit frameworks under stringent regulatory landscapes. She emphasised that true board diversity—compassing expertise across such areas as financial oversight and cybersecurity—is essential for managing unpredictable "unknown unknowns" and allowing directors to constructively challenge executive management.

- Ms Theresa Yeung (Managing Principal, East Asia, Arup) shared her extensive experience steering massive infrastructure and sustainability initiatives. She explained that when driving deep organisational change, boards must look beyond simple slogans and explicitly hardcode sustainable concepts into clear, actionable checklists and daily KPIs.

The panel collectively reminded prospective applicants that the assessment process functions as a free corporate "health check". Nominees are strongly encouraged to prepare robust, quantitative data to back up their achievements for review by the independent judging panels.

Nomination Details & Categories

The deadline for submitting all nominations for the 2026 Awards is 23 July 2026. The nominations will be rigorously evaluated by a highly credible panel of prominent business leaders, professionals, and regulatory representatives.

Awards are granted across the following categories:

To download nomination forms and access detailed guidelines, please visit the official HKIoD portal: https://www.hkiod.com/award-series-for-director-excellence-2026/.

Photo Caption: (Left to Right) HKIoD Awards Organising Committee Chairman Mr Vincent Chan hosts the interactive panel discussion alongside past awardees Mr Alvin Lee, Ms Helen Li, and Ms Theresa Yeung, highlighting best practices in corporate leadership and sustainable governance.

About The Hong Kong Institute of Directors (“HKIoD”)

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors (“HKIoD”) is Hong Kong’s premier body representing directors working together to advance corporate sustainability in creating long-term value for companies, their owners, stakeholders, humankind and Planet Earth through advocacy and standards-setting in corporate governance and director professionalism.  

Led by Founder Chairman Dr The Hon Moses Cheng, HKIoD was founded in 1997.  Throughout the years, HKIoD is honoured to have the Chief Executive of HKSAR as the Institute’s Patron.  Membership of HKIoD comprises of directors from diverse industries and corporate types and includes Executive Directors, Non-Executive Directors and Independent Non-Executive Directors.  With multi-culturalism and international perspectives, HKIoD organises activities that cover director training, seminars and forums, collective director voice, guideline establishment, public education, Award Series for Director Excellence, assessment of Corporate Governance Scorecard for listed companies etc.  

As a member body of the Global Network of Director Institutes (“GNDI”), HKIoD is committed to global collaboration in promoting good corporate governance and director professionalism.  HKIoD is the appointed Host of the Hong Kong Chapter of Climate Governance Initiative, a global network that collaborates with the World Economic Forum in actively promoting directors’ address of the risks and opportunities of climate change.

For details please visit: http://www.hkiod.com | http://www.gndi.org | https://climate-governance.org/

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