This was the first session in our five-part Practical Tools Webinar Series designed to inform and educate CCBC members on topics to keep their “China toolbox” up to date. Upcoming session topics include:

• Chinese Elite Politics, the Five-Year Plans, and the Two Sessions
• Canada-China Education Opportunities and Challenges in the COVID-19 Environment
• Supply Chain – Managing Your Product Flow In and/or Out of China
• Protecting Your Profit Margin – Financial & Accounting Risk Consideration for your China Businesses

This session was free of charge for CCBC members in good standing, C$25+HST for non-members.

Webinar sponsor

About the speakers

Fanny Leung

Senior Managing Director – Marketing and Center Management, Chongbang Group

Fanny Leung is Senior Managing Director – Marketing and Center Management of Chongbang Group, a real estate investment and development group of companies.

Chongbang Group founded in 2003, is an investor, developer and manager of retail-anchored mixed-use projects in Shanghai and major cities in the Yangtze River Delta. Its highly focused business strategy, its holistic approach to property development and its proven ability to compete on innovation and differentiation are well recognized by the industry and the investment community. Branded under “Life Hubs,” meaning centres of living, all Chongbang projects are commanding leadership positions in their respective market segments. And since 2012, its founding shareholders have been joined by three of the world’s largest institutional investors – GIC from Singapore, Ivanhoe Cambridge from Canada and APG from the Netherlands – attesting to the quality of its business performance and corporate governance.

Ms. Leung has over 30 years of experience in real estate in China. Prior to joining Chongbang Group in 2004, she has had over 25 years of experience with the Kerry Group and Kerry Properties. Her experience encompasses a wide range of projects including residential, commercial, offices, hotels and private clubs.

Stuart Mercier
Managing Director, Real Estate, Country Head for China, Brookfield Asset Management (Asia)

Stuart Mercier is a Managing Director and Country Head for China, overseeing all of Brookfield’s operations and institutional relationships. Mr. Mercier also has direct responsibility for Brookfield’s Real Estate activities across Asia including business development, investment and portfolio management.

Mr. Mercier joined Brookfield in Hong Kong in 2012 before relocating to Shanghai to establish Brookfield’s mainland Chinese operations. Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Mercier held various investment roles within a boutique Asian real estate investment and advisory firm. He also held various positions at Oxford Properties, the global real estate platform of the OMERS pension fund.

Mr. Mercier received a BA from Bishop’s University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Hong Kong and London Business School, where he was the recipient of the Haitong Securities “New Generation of Leaders” scholarship. Mr. Mercier is an advisory board member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Shanghai), the Canada-China Business Council (Shanghai), and Urban Land Institute is a member of the Asian Advisory Council of Bishop’s University. He was recently elected to the CCBC board of directors.

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director & COO, CCBC

Sarah Kutulakos joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Ms. Kutulakos has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

Prior to joining CCBC, Ms. Kutulakos worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Ms. Kutulakos managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Ms. Kutulakos has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Ms. Kutulakos’ interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.