Equipped to Face the Future
The advisor of accelerator HKAI Lab since 2018, Timothy Leung (EMBA 2005) previously spent decades working for companies including Apple, PCCW and Alibaba, moving from sales and marketing roles to senior management. He studied for a CUHK EMBA from 2003 to 2005.
How did your early career develop?
Working at Apple was my dream job at the time; I was happy I got a job there [in 1994]. But after five years, it was like a stalemate, selling PCs. I thought: what’s the next thing I can do? It was the internet. Pre-dotcom crash, I got a job at PCCW. I was there for eight years; there were lots of exciting opportunities.
What made you decide to study for a CUHK EMBA while you were working at PCCW?
To consolidate my experience and become more rounded. The internet was new. Although PCCW is big, our team was small and we had to do everything ourselves. My area of focus at the time was sales and marketing. I realised I needed to understand more about different aspects of running a business: legal, accounting, financial prediction, negotiating, HR. I lacked that kind of training, and I needed to equip myself with it if I wanted to climb up the corporate ladder.
What does your current job involve?
HKAI Lab has been something of a change for me. Alibaba is one of its investors, and they know me and how I run a business. They needed someone who could understand all-round aspects of business, and someone who has experience working with startups, large corporate and government. It is quite different but the good thing is the mission of growing the AI ecosystem is very clear. I talk to corporations about why they should use AI. I have experience of this – when I started in an internet business, people didn’t understand the internet. AI is another fundamental technology that people know is useful but don’t understand.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It’s exciting – it takes me back to the old days. Technological innovation is exciting and start-ups are exciting – it’s a totally different approach to building a business. I listen to great new ideas from young people all the time. And in areas like construction safety and drug discovery, AI is saving lives. This is amazing. AI affects all aspects of life: when you shop on Taobao or Amazon or navigate with Google Maps, behind the scenes is AI. There are many things about it we need to control, but in a way, that makes it even more interesting – we have to manage the risks because it’s so powerful.
What was the biggest thing you got out of the EMBA?
My EMBA helped me to grow in my career. The course was very valuable, but what I didn’t expect is the network. It was a very tight group with friendships that still last till today, 21 years later. We still have gatherings. People come from different backgrounds and have different expertise, and I can often call a friend for advice. It’s been very useful for my career development, but it’s not just that – these are lifelong friendships.