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Last updated on September 29, 2010Here are the head honchos of HSBC, Hong Kong's first local bank, from the very beginning, ...
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Francis Chomley 孔萊 (1865-1866) *
Chairman of the Provisional Committee, became HSBC Chairman on March 2, 1865; senior partner in China of Dent and Co. 寶順洋行; Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council (1864-1866); Consul of Sweden and Norway to Hong Kong (1863); Italian consul to Hong Kong (1864)
John Dent (January - February 1867)
E. Cunningham (March - May 1867)
The only E. Cunningham I can find in around that period is Edward L. Cunningham (b.1823 Milton, Massachusetts - d.1889 same Milton), who was the Managing Director Russell and Co. in Shanghai, the President (1862-1864) of the Shanghai Steamship Company, which he was instrumental in the founding and the Assistant Consul of Sweden and Norway to Hong Kong (November, 1871). Cunningham was well respected for his philanthropic mind and deeds. Russell and Co. became shareholders of HSBC in 1866 and by December that year, William H. Forbes (also from Milton), Russell’s Chairman was elected as director of the bank. It puzzles me though that if Edward is in fact E. Cunningham, why him and not his Chairman who was elected to the chair? Forbes only became chairman in 1874. So, as far as I am concerned, this is non-conclusive, and needs further digging …
NissenAgathon Friedrich Woldemar Nissen (June - November 1867) *
George Johann Hellend (December 1867 - 1868) *
A Norwegian; member of the Provisional Committee; senior partner of John Burd and Co. 畢洋行; consul for Denmark, Sweden and Norway; Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1869); Danish consul to Hong Kong (1867); Consul of Sweden and Norway to Hong Kong (1867).
George Farley Heard (1869)
An American; b.1837 Ipswich, Massachusetts - d.1875 aboard the S.S. Anadye in the Red Sea, returning to the United States; entered Harvard, but completed his formal education in Geneva, Switzerland; went to China in 1859 as a private secretary of John E. Ward (the American minister to China) at the negotiation of the Treaty of Tientsin; had his named changed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts in 1861, from George Washington Heard Jr. to George Farley Heard; joined his uncle’s trading firm in Canton, Augustine Heard and Co. 瓊記洋行 where his brother Albert Farley Heard (a member of the bank’s Provisional Committee) worked as senior partner; later succeeded his brother as senior partner of AHC; Russian consul to Hong Kong (1864); remained in Hong Kong with the company until its final collapse in 1875; died at sea heading back to the United States at the age of 38; buried in Aden, Yemen.
Henry Beverley Lemann (1870) *
Member of the Provisional Committee; head of Gilman and Co. 太平洋行.
R. Rowett (1871-1872)
Member of the Legislative Conucil
Thomas Pyke (1872-1873)
Solomon David Sassoon (1873-1874)
b.1841-d.1894; grandfather of Rabbi Solomon David Sassoon (b.August 1915 London – d.May 1985) and great grandfather of Rabbi Isaac S.D. Sassoon, both are educator and scholar.
William H. Forbes (1874-1875)
Chairman of the opium firm Russell and Co.
Adolph von Andre (1875-1876)
A German national; co-founded of Melchers & Co. 美最時洋行 with Hermann Melchers (August 1, 1866); partner of the firm (1866-1889); Consul of Austria and Hungry to Hong Kong (1880) and Consulate General (1883)
Emmanuel Raphael Belilios 庇理羅士 (1876-1877)
b.1837 Calcutta – d.1905 London; a Baghdadi Indian Jew; the longest serving director in the HSBC board (1868-1888); Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council (1892-1900).
Hans Christian Heinrich Hoppius (1877-1878)
A German national, b. - December 12, 1894 Hong Kong; arrived Hong Kong in 1862 at the age of twenty one; second generation successor of Woldemar Nissen in the firm Siemssen and Co. as senior partner from 1868; president of the German Club in Hong Kong since its establishment in 1865; member of the Hong Kong Commission at the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition held in London; his name was shown as a director of the bank in a HSBC advertisement posted in The Straits Times (Singapore) on September 4, 1883.
Frederick David Sassoon 費特力克沙宣 (1878-1879)
b.1853-d.1917; of David Sassoon, Sons and Co. 沙宣洋行; younger brother of Albert Sassoon;
William H. Forbes (1879-1880)
This was Forbes' second term, he previously served as Chairman from 1874 to 1875.
William Keswick 凱薩克 (1880-1881)
b.1834, Scottish Lowland – d.1912; 9th Tai-pan of Jardine, Matheson; founder of the Keswick family; grandnephew of William Jardine; arrived in Hong Kong in 1855; established a Yokohama branch for Jardine in 1859; became a Jardine partner in Hong Kong in 1862; left Hong Kong to be with Matheson and Co. in London in 1886; member of the Executive and Legislative Councils; Chairman of Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1870, 1877-1881, 1884-1885); Hawaiian consul to Hong Kong (1869,1885); Danish consul to Hong Kong (1880); MP for Epsom & Ewell (1899-1912); HSBC Director (1877); Deputy Chairman (1879-1880); resigned from the board in 1886 to return to London; Keswick finally connected Jardine, Matheson and HSBC thirteen years after the establishment of the bank. Jardine’s representation on the boards (of directors and the advisory one in London) had never ceased since then.
A. McIver (1881-1882)
H.L. Dalrymple 達爾藍普 (1882-1883)
A Scott; partner of mercantile firm and opium trader Birley and Co. (renamed Birley, Dalrymple and Co. in 1883); Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1878-1882); Justice of the Peace; name of Birley, Dalrymple and Co. was shown as one of the places where copies of the Opium Ordinance in the Straits Settlements and Labuan were available for viewing in an advertisement posted by W.H. Treacher, Governor of Sandakan, in the Straits Times (Singapore) on July 14, 1883 inviting bids for the "Tender for the North Borneo Opium Farm, 1884"
Wilhelm Reiners (to December 1883)
A German national; partner of Melchers & Co. 美最時洋行 (1874-1893)
A.P. McEwan 麥伊雲 (December 1883 – 1885)
Senior partner of the opium firm Holiday Wise and Co; Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1886-1887, 1890); Chamber’s Representative to the Legislative Council (1887-1890);
Frederick David Sassoon (1885-1886)
This is F.D. Sassoon's second term, he previously served as Chairman from 1878 to 1879.
A. McIver (to June 1886)
This was McIver's second term, he previously served as Chairman from 1881 to 1882.
Max Grote (June 1886 – September 1887)
A German national; partner of Melchers & Co. 美最時洋行 (1884-1887)
Charles D. Bottomley (September 1887 – 1888)
A scott; Bottomley listed his residential addresses as at Wyndham Street and Douglas Castle in 1884, the same as Douglas Lapraik. I do not know how the two were related. Lapraik was a member of the bank’s Provisional Committee and the Board of Directors.
John Bell-Irving (1888-1889)
Partner of Jardine, Matheson; married Mary Jardine, niece of William Jardine (daughter of David); Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1888-1889); member of the Legislative Council (1886, 1887-1889); Hawaiian consul to Hong Kong (1887); HSBC Director (1886); Deputy Chairman 1887; resigned from the board in 1889; returned to the board in 1893; Deputy Chairman (1897-1898, 1902-1903)
William H. Forbes (February 1889 – February 1890)
This was Forbes' third term, he previously served as Chairman from 1874 to 1875 and from 1879 to 1880.
H.L. Dalrymple (February 1890 – February 1891)
This was Dalrtmple's second term, he previously served as Chairman from 1882 to 1883.
Jacob Silas Moses (February 1891 – February 1892)
Senior partner of E. D. Sassoon and Co. 新沙遜洋行
Stephen C. Michaelsen (February 1892 – February 1893)
Partner of Melchers & Co. 美最時洋行 (1884-1897); Russian consul to Hong Kong (1887)
Hans Christian Heinrich Hoppius (February 1893 – February 1894)
This was Hoppius' second term, he previously served as Chairman from 1877 to 1878.
C.J. Holliday (February 1894 – February 1895)
Commander of Shanghai Volunteer Corps 萬國商團 (1881-1882, 1883-1886, 1891-1892, 1898-1900); director of Shanghai Municipal Council 上海公共租界工部局 (1883); Deputy Chairman of the bank (1894)
Jacob Silas Moses (February 1895 – February 1896)
This was Moses' second term, he previously served as Chairman from February 1891 to February 1892.
A. McConachie (February 1896 – February 1897)
Senior partner of Gilman & Co.; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1896), Vice chair (1895, 1899); acting Chamber Representative to the Legislative Council (1884, 1895).
Stephen C. Michaelsen (February 1897 – February 1898)
This was Michaelsen's second term, he previously served as Chairman from February 1892 to February 1893.
James Jardine Bell-Irving (February 1898 – February 1899)
b.1857 Makerstoun, Roxburghshire, Scotland – d.?; partner of Jardine, Matheson; member of the Legislative Council (1892-1893, 1895, 1896-1899, 1901-1902); member of the Executive Council (1896-1899, 1901-1902); Chieftain of Hong Kong St. Andrew's Society (1897-1899); Chairman of the Hong Kong Cotton Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing Company (1899-1910, 1911-1914); father-in-law of Ian Maitland, 15th Earl of Lauderdale
Robert M. Gray (February 1899 – February 1900)
Head of the British mercantile firm of Reiss and Co. 泰和洋行 (Reiss was an old trading firm initially established in Canton. The company was acquired by Hutchison group in 1960s); Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1897-1900); Justice of the Peace; Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club Steward (his horses had won many racing cup for him, it was said); believed to be one of the richest men in Hong Kong; close to Augustine Heard Jr. of Augustine Heard and Co.
N.A. Siebs (February 1900 – February 1901)
A German national; partner in Siemssen and Co.; member of German Club; his name was shown as a director of the bank in a HSBC advertisement posted in The Straits Times (Singapore) on January 7, 1904.
James Johnstone Keswick (1901-1902)
b.1845-d.1914; Tai-pan of Jardine, Matheson (1890-1900); younger brother of William Keswick; arrived in the Far East in 1870; member of the Legislative Council (1889, 1890-1896, 1899-1901); member of the Executive Council (1899, 1900-1901); Chairman of Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1893-1894); founded Hongkong Land with Paul Chater in 1890; Chieftain of Hong Kong St. Andrew's Society (1890-1892, 1893-1894) Director of HSBC (1890-1895, 1899-1900). J.J. Keswick is not included in the list provided by HSBC GMO Archives. According to Carol Matheson Connell, A Business in Risk: Jardine Matheson and the Hong Kong Trading Industry, he was Chairman for the perior 1901-1902.
Shewan, the Two Million Dollar
ManRobert George Shewan (February 1902 – February 1903)
Shewan purchased a power station in Canton from Russell and Co. and registered it as a new company in 1900 (or 1901), which went by the name of China Light and Power Company. He was CLP's first Chairman and remained so for over thirty years. By 1932 the principal shareholders, member of the Kadoorie family, who retain control to this day, decided they wanted to run it themselves. Shewan was asked to go, so he demanded a "golden parachute" of HK$1 million. The family thought he was asking way too much and took the claim to court. The court returned the claim not only in favor of Shewan, but also that he should be paid HK$2 million instead!
A.J. Raymond (February 1903 – February 1905)
Worked for E.D. Sassoon and Co.
Herbert Edmund Tomkins (February 1905 – February 1906)
Succeeded Robert M. Gray as head of Reiss and Co. in 1901; member of the Hong Kong Club
Armin Haupt (February 1906 – February 1907) Haupt
A Dane; partner of Melchers and Co. 美最時洋行 (1892-1907); consul for Denmark; member of Hong Kong Club and German Club; Russian consul to Hong Kong (1898); Danish consul to Hong Kong (1899); HSBC Deputy Chairman (1906)
MedhurstG.H. Medhurst (February 1907 – February 1908)
Medhurst’s board included these men: Henry Keswick of Jardine, Matheson and Co. as Vice Chairman, A. Fuchs of Siemssen and Co., E. Goetz of Arnold, Karberg and co., C.R. Lenzmann of the German firm Carlowitz and Co., A. J. Raymond of E.D. Sassoon and co., Edward Shellim of David Sassoon and co., Robert George Shewan of Shewan, Tomes and Co., H.A.W. Slade of Gilman and Co. and Herbert Edmund Tomkins of Reiss and Co.
Henry KeswickHenry Keswick (February 1908 – February 1909)
WJ Gresson (February 1909 – February 1910)
Herbert Edmund Tomkins (February 1910 – February 1911)
This was Tomkins' second term, he previously served as Chairman from February 1905 to February 1906.
ShellimEdward Shellim (February 1912 – February 1913)
British; manager of David Sassoon, Sons and Co.; came to China in 1885; a director of Hong Kong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company, the Hong Kong Land Investment Company, the Hong Kong Tramways, the Hong Kong Land Reclamation Company, the China Sugar Refining Company, the Canton Marine Insurance Company, the China Fire Insurance Company; member of the Legislative Council (1913-1919).
F.H. Armstrong (February 1913 – February 1914)
LandaleDavid Landale (February 1914 – February 1916)
W.L. Pattenden (February 1916 - February 1917)
Pattenden is not included in the list provided by HSBC GMO Archives; his name appeared in a HSBC advertisement posted in The Straits Times on March 9, 1916; no further information can be found on Pattenden at this time.
Pattenden's Board included these men: S.H. Dodwell as Deputy Chairman, G.T.M. Edkins, David Landale, C.S. Gubbay of E.D. Sassoon and Co., J.A. Plummer, P.H. Holyoak and Edward Shellim
S.H. Dodwell (February 1917 – February 1918)
Head of Dodwell and Co., Ltd. 天祥洋行; probably related to company founder George Benjamin Dodwell; Chairman of Dairy Farm; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1919, 1936, 1941) and vice chair (1916-1918, 1935, 1940); chaired the Chamber’s last General Meeting on May 13, 1941, months before the fall of Hong Kong on Christmas Day; Member of the Legislative Council (1917, 1941); President of the Royal Society of St. George Hong Kong Branch (1938/1939); Captain of the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club (1916, 1935-1936)
P.H. Holyoak (February 1918 – February 1919)
Merchant; head of Reiss and Co. and later Holyoak, Massey and Co., Ltd.; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1917-1918, 1920-1921, 1925), Chamber representative to the Legislative Council (1915-1926); member of the Masonic order Hong Kong; Captain of the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club (1921); President of the Royal Society of St. George Hong Kong Branch (1918-1919); President of the Aero Club (1920)
J.A. Plummer (February 1919 – February 1920)
Managing Director of Bradley & Co.; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1931); son of John Isaac Plummer, who, for twenty years, was Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory in Hong Kong (the old Plummer retired in 1911 and died in 1925 in London)
E.V.D. Parr (February 1920 – February 1921)
Was head of P & O Steam Navigation Co. in 1919; went to work for Mackinnon, Mackenzie and Co. in 1920; Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1919-1920, 1923); member of the Legislative Council (1919-1921); Captain of the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club (1919).
G.T.M. Edkins (February 1921 – February 1922)
Manager of Butterfield and Swire; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1916); President of Royal Society of St. George Hong Kong Branch (1921/1922)
GM Dodwell (February 1922 – February 1923)
A.O. Lang (February 1923 – February 1924)
Arrived Hong Kong in 1904 to join Gibb, Livingston and Co. 仁記洋行 and became head in 1916; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1922), vice chair (1920, 1923, 1925-1926) and member of the Chamber General Committee (1916-1927); member of the Legislative Council (1923-1927) and Executive Council (various period since 1922); director of various firms in Hong Kong including Union Insurance Society of Canton, Hong Kong Electric, Hong Kong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown, Hong Kong Tramways, Star Ferry, Indo-China Steam Navigation, China Sugar Refining, Canton and Macau Steamboat and Peak Tramways; left Hong Kong in 1927.
D.G.M. Bernard (February 1926 – February 1928)
Chairman and Managing Director of Jardine, Matheson and Co.; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1926-1927); member of the Executive and Legislative Councils; President of the Royal Society of St. George Hong Kong Branch (1923/1924)
A.H. Compton (February 1928 – February 1929)
Manager of David Sassoon, Sons and Co.
N.S. Brown (February 1929 – February 1930)
J.A. Plummer (February 1930 – February 1931)
This was Plummer's second term, he previously served as Chairman from February 1919 to February 1920
C. Gordon Mackie 邁基 (February 1931 – February 1932)
Head of Gibb Livingston and Co. and later worked for Mackinnon, Mackenzie and Co.; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1930, 1933-1934) and vice chair (1928); Chamber representative to the Legislative Council (1931-1935); Chieftain of Hong Kong St. Andrew’s Society (1929/1930)
Paterson - HSBC Chairman,
Jardine, Matheson Tai-pan,
Home Guard Major and POWJohn Johnstone Paterson (February 1932 – February 1933)
Thomas Ernest 'Tam' Pearce (February 1933 – February 1934)
Merchant; b.year unknown Canton – d.December 1941, Hong Kong; son of Rev. Thomas William Pearce [1], missionary and educator in Hong Kong; very well respected businessman; bought the trading firm John D. Hutchison 和記洋行 form its founder John Du Flon Hutchison (established in 1880s) in 1917 and ran it until the outbreak of war; Dairy Farm board member; Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1939) and vice chair (1938); Member of the Legislative Council (1940-1941); President of the Royal Society of St. George Hong Kong Branch (1930/1931); Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club steward; member of the Hong Kong Cricket Team (1903/1904, 1935/1936); father of Alec Pearce (b.1910 Hong Kong - d.1982 Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England), a well-known cricketer who played for Hong Kong; died in a gallant defense of the Hong Kong Electric power station at North Point during the battle of Hong Kong.
C. Gordon Mackie 邁基 (February 1934 – February 1935)
This was Mackie's second term, he previously served as Chariman from February 1931 to February 1932.
S.H. Dodwell (February 1935 – February 1936)
This was Dodwell's second term, he previously served as Chairman eighteen years ago from February 1917 to February 1918,
John Johnstone Paterson (February 1936 – February 1937)
This is Paterson's second term, he previously served as Chairman from February 1932 to February 1933
G Miskin (February 1937 – February 1938)
Managing Director of Gilman and Co., Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1941, 1946-1947)
Thomas Ernest 'Tam' Pearce (February 1938 – February 1939)
This was Pearce's second term , he previously served as Chairman from February 1933 to February 1934
A.L. Shields (February 1939 – February 1940)Head of Shewan, Tomes & Co 休恩托姆斯公司, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1938) the vice chair (1937); the Chamber representative to the Legislative Council (1938-1944); Chieftain Hong Kong St. Andrew’s Society (1933/1934). Shields served in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps. Shields, together with Major C.M. Manners, urge Governor Marc Young, after a visit to Japanese lines and sighting the artilery and troops in reserve during a truce at 9am on Christmas Day 1941, that it was futile to continue fighting. At 3:15pm Major-General Christopher Michael Maltby, the Hong Kong garrison commander organized the defense, advised Young that no further useful military resistance was possible and then ordered all commanding officers to break off the fighting and to capitulate to the nearest Japanese commander.
H.V. Wilkinson (February 1940 – February 1941)
President of the Royal Society of St. George Hong Kong Branch (1940/1941)
John Johnstone Paterson (February 1941 – February 1942)
This is Paterson's third term, he previously served as Chairman from February 1932 to February 1933 and from February 1936 to February 1937
Arthur Morse (1941-1953, June 1946-1953)
b.April 25, 1892 Tipperary, Ireland - d.May 13, 1967; Morse was Chairman of the Bank’s London Advisory Committee; required by British regulators in 1941, because of the imminent fall of Hong Kong to the Japanese, to act as Chairman of the Bank; in 1943, the London Committee was empowered to act as a Board of Directors and Morse was appointed to the dual role of Chairman and Chief Manager; Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council (1946-1953); Naming honor: Morse Park.
C. Blaker (March 1954 – March 1958)
M Turner (1959-1962)
Hugh David MacEwen Barton (1962-1963)
b.1911, Ireland - d.1989, England; Chairman and Managing Director of Jardine, Matheson & Co. (1953-1963), HSBC Director (1955-1959), HSBC Vice Chairman (1960-1961)
WCG Knowles (1964)
John A.H. Saunders (1965-1972)
Guy M. Sayer (1973–1977)
b.1924 London - d.2009 London; Sayer rose from rank and file within HSBC; he joined HSBC London in 1946 and was sent to the East the following year; became Manger of the Mongkok Branch in Hong Kong in 1965; Staff Controller in 1969; General Manager and Director of the Board in the following year; Deputy Chairman in 1971.
Michael A. R. Sandberg 沈弼 (1978-1986); b.May 31, 1927 Surrey - d. ;
W. Purves (1986–1993)
J. Grey (1993-1996)
J. Strickland (1996–1999)
D. Eldon (1999–2005)
Vincent Cheng (2005–2010)
M.F. Geoghegan (2010- )
A very special thank goes to Julia of HSBC GMO Archives for providing names of chairmen previously not on my list.Group Chairman
William Purves 浦偉士 (1986-1998)
John Bond 龐約翰 (1998-2006)
Stephen Green 葛霖 (2006-)
Chief Manager, Hong Kong
Victor Kresser, center front row, the Swiss Calvinist who
took the helm of Hong Kong's first local bank operated on
"sound Scottish banking principles”, was sacked two year
after he was installed to the position of Chief Manager.1st Victor Kresser (1868-1870)
[1] CEP was the first French bank to enter Qing China, while the Shanghai office was the bank's first branch office ever established outside of France. The Shanghai branch was opened for the purpose to receive eight million taels of silver that China were bound to pay to France as indemnity for the Second Opium War. CEP was nationalized in 1945, and was merged with several other banks in 1966 to become BNP Paribas.
HSBC one dollar note dated December 24, 1873
with printed signature of James Greig2nd James Greig (1871-1876)
Lucky Jackson3rd Thomas Jackson 昃臣 (1876-1886); representative of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce to Legislative Council (1884-1887)
5th Thomas Jackson (1887-1889)
G.E. Noble6th George Edward Noble (1889-1890)
7th Thomas Jackson (1890-1891)
8th F. de Bovis (1891-1893)
9th Thomas Jackson (1893-1902); Chairman of Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1901)
10th J.R.M. Smith (1902-1910); Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1909, 1910)
11th Newton J Stabb (1910-1920); Vice Chairman of Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (1912)
c.1910 photo of A.G. Stephen
with his comprador
13th A.H. Barlow (1924-1927)
14th A. C. Hynes (1927-1930); Member of the Legislative Council (1928-1929)
15th Vandeleur M. Grayburn (1930-1941)
Interned by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation; died in prison.
16th Arthur Morse (1941-1953); served as Chairman during the same period
17th Michael W. Turner (1953-1962)
18th John A. H. Saunders (1962-1964); became Chairman in 1964
19th Hsi-Jui Shen (1964-1972)
The position was Joint Chief Manager; b.May 5, 1902 Shanghai – d.1994 San Francisco; among the first students of Chinese descent at Dartmouth College (class of 1928) and Harvard Business School; said to be formerly a director of ROC’s Central Trust of China 中央信託局; first Chinese descent to fill the top management post of HSBC.
I found no record of Shen being connected with CTC, but there was a shanghai-born man, of similar age to Shen, by the name of Sheng Shenyi 盛升頤 aka Sheng Chen 盛臣, who was put in charge of CTC's Hong Kong Bureau in 1937 after the fallen of Shanghai. Sheng was the seventh son of famous Qing government sponsored industrialist Sheng Xuanhuai 盛宣懷 (1844-1916). Sheng also owned a trading firm, Yangzi Trading Company 揚子公司, in Hong Kong under a partnership with Kong Lingkon 孔令侃 [2] and Song Zion 宋子安 [3]. The trading company acted as agent to CTC in all arms procurements, including major ones such as the purchase of warplanes, to skim huge profits for the three. Sheng was said to have made a fortune from Yangzi, and also from CTC. No idea if these two are the same man, which is entirely possible. No idea if these two are the same man, which is entirely possible. The surname 盛 can be pronunced as Shen or Sheng or Sing; just as my name is pronunced as Butt in Cantonese and Bi in Mandarin pinyin, to confuse this further, my sister goes by the nee But ...
[2] Kong Lingkon was the son of K'ung Hsianghsi 孔祥熙, alias H.H. Kung, and Eling Soong 宋藹齡 (the eldest of the three Soong Sisters); K’ung was ROC Premier from January 1938 to December 1939.CTC was established by ROC’s Central Bank in 1934 in Shanghai to undertake government’s trust insurance affairs and government procurement (including arms purchase and shipping). CTC was moved to Taipei in 1949. In 2003, A reorganization in 2003 turned CTC into a corporation with a board of directors, but retaining the same name and function.
[3] Song Zion was the younger brother of Soong Tzuwen 宋子文, alias Paul Soong, who was the son of Charlie Soong (as featured in the book “The Soong Dynasty”). A brother-in-law of H.H. Kung, Paul Soong was ROC Minister of Finance (1928–1931, 1932–1933) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1942–1945)
20th Guy M. Sayer (1970-1977); became Chairman in 1972
21st Michael A. R. Sandberg (1977-1986); also Chairman during the same period
Group Chief Executive
1st William Purves (1986-1993); also Chairman from 1986 to 1998
2nd John Bond (1993-1998); became Chairman in 1998
3rd Keith Whitson (1998-2003)
b. March 25, 1943 Morecambe, England – d. ; joined HSBC in 1961; has worked for the HSBC Group in the United Kingdom, USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia; Manager Frankfurt from 1978; Manager Indonesia from 1981; Assistant General Manager Finance for Asia from 1984; General Manager of HSBC plc from 1988-1990; Executive Director of HSBC Bank USA from 1990; Executive Director and Deputy Chief Executive of HSBC plc from 1992, CEO from 1994, Deputy Chairman 1998; Chairman of the Shareholders Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt KgaA, Düsseldorf; Vice Chairman of HSBC North America Inc.; Chairman of Merrill Lynch HSBC ; Chairman of HSBC Bank AS in Turkey; a non-executive director of the Financial Services Authority (1999) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers; knighted in 2002; retired at the AGM on May 30, 2003 after 42 years with HSBC.
4th Stephen Green (2003-2006), became Chairman in 2006
5th Michael Geoghegan (2006- )
The First Accountant
John Grigor,who was previously the accountant of the Bank of Hindustan.
The Seven Head Compradors of HSBC
These seven contracted bankers took care of HSBC’s China affairs for a whole century following the bank’s inception. Between 1865 and 1965 there were nineteen chief managers in HSBC Hong Kong, but only seven compradors.
1st Lo Chung-kong 羅振綱 (1865-1877, died in office); alias Lo Pak-sheung 羅伯常
2nd Lo Hok-pang 羅鶴朋 (1877-1892); alias Lo Sau-sung 羅壽嵩; third son of Lo Chung-kong;
3rd Lau Wai-chuen 劉渭川 (1892-1906)
4th Lau Boon-chiu 劉伴樵 (1906-1912)
5th Ho Sai-wing 何世榮 (1912-1945, died in office)
b.? Hong Kong - d.1945 Hong Kong; the longest serving comprador of HSBC totaling 33 years; son of Ho Fook and was adopted by uncle Robert Ho-tung (Ho Fook’s elder brother); engaged by E.D. Sassoon and Co. as comprador; Robert Ho-tung provided a guarantee amount to HK$300,000 to HSBC for it to engage Ho Sai-wing as comprador; in 1934 Ho Sai-wing faced bankruptcy due to losses in share speculation (in connection with Jardine Matheson shares; as a result of the same incident, two of his brothers died from suicide and a third one, Ho Sai-kwong 何世光 abandoned his wife and son Stanley Ho and fled to Vietnam) but was bailed out by Robert Ho-tung; interned and tortured by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation; died in 1945 after Hong Kong was liberated.
6th Tong Jung-bo 唐宗保 (1945-1953, died in office); the first comprador after WWII
7th Lee Shun-wah 李純華 (1953-1965)
The last comprador of HSBC; maternal nephew of the fourth comprador Lau Boon-chiu; in 1960 the position was renamed "Chinese Manager 華人經理"; Lee's retirement in 1965 so ended the era of comprador for HSBC
HSBC’s Shanghai office also had seven compradors:
1st Wang Huaishan 王槐山 (1865-1874)
2nd Xi Zhengfu 席正甫 (1874-1904)
3rd Xi Ligong 席立功 (1904-1922)
4th Xi Lusheng 席鹿笙 (1922-1929)
5th Gong Ziyu 龔子漁 (1930-1937)
6th Gong Xingwu 龔星五 (1937-1941, 1945-1949)
7th Gong Zhenfang 龔振方 (1949-1950)
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* More information on this person can be found from the post Sutherland 13.
- TO BE COMPLETED -
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