Ms. Katherine Lui has always been passionate about using creativity in conquering challenges and is always fascinated by innovations that disrupt the world. She was influential in guiding some of the fastest growing companies in China to become Unicorn companies in just a few years’ time. She played a pivotal role as the advisor to VIPSHOP (the third largest e-commerce site in China) and YONGCHE (a Chinese domestic e-platform that enables users to book professional car reservation services online) when they were at their early stages.
Ms. Lui believes vehemently that entrepreneurs are the driving force in shaping the future of business. They regularly use technology coupled with knowledge to create massive value and deliver results. As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) herself, Ms. Lui believes this people + technology can even be applied to the accounting profession, leveraging their knowledge and experience along with technology to disrupt the business world.
Through working with her clients and business partners, Ms. Lui most enjoys contributing her energy in working with people with technological creativity to assist them with her expertise – formulation and implementation of business strategy focusing on financial related solutions. She set the culture and mission of her two companies - CanCan and CanAsia to be “Innovation first”; cultivating novel and improved solutions to solve problems more efficiently. Having been on the judging panel for numerous business competitions, Ms. Lui sat as on the judging panel at two key competitions: the “Elevator Pitch Competition” by HKSTP and the “HKUST25Projects” by HKUST in 2017 and 2016. She also is the acting CFO of FEW (Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide) and the Finance Director of the board of Entrepreneurs’ Organization Beijing International (a global non-profit organization with 12,000+ members from 53 countries, whose stated mission is to "Engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow."). Ms. Lui also works as the Expert in Residence for Chinaccelerator – a leading startup accelerator in China operated by SOSV, with a mentorship-driven program helping early stage international companies excel.
Ms. Lui filmed a series of videos in late 2017 to share her experience in the past 10 years assisting her clients (Venture Capital funds, Private Equity Funds and entrepreneurs) in fund raising processes with the title “Exit Strategies – from the Founder’s point of View”. These videos will be available via FEW and the Showmuse App starting 2018.
In the formative years at CanAsia Consulting Group, a boutique transaction services firm with offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Ms. Lui led her team by focusing on providing financial due diligence services for investors checking on their target companies. As a result, some of these target companies (such as VIPSHOP – NYSE:VIPS) sought Ms. Lui’s team to advise on post investment financial matters as: CFO related service areas (fund raising, financial controls, budgeting) and Key Performance Indications for senior managements, employee options value calculating advisory. It is this transition and the requirements from her fast-growing company clients that inspired Ms. Lui to roll out her current products - An acting CFO service with a self-developed ERP software – CanCan看看 to China and the world.
Prior to establishing CanAsia Consulting Group, Ms. Lui worked for KPMG Toronto, Shanghai and Hong Kong for almost 12 years mostly on IPO and Merger & Acquisition projects such as listing of China Mobile and Sinopec; and the acquisition of 康師傅’s (Master Kong) beverage department by Asahi Breweries, Ltd. She left KPMG in late 2004 and co-founded a private equity firm Centerstone Partners to build international business strategies in medical equipment and pharmaceutical field that succeeded in closing a pharma deal with a single green-field company valuing at US$100 million in 2007.
The CanAsia team was involved in more than 100 deals in the past few years and the total value has exceeded US$20 billion in total deal size.
Ms. Lui graduated from University of Toronto (Bachelor of Commerce) and got her MBA from Schulich School of Business of York University, Canada. She is a practicing Certified Public Accountant in Hong Kong and a member of the Institute of Public Accountant of Ontario Canada. She also wrote the American Institute Certified Public Accountant examination and passed that before she left North America in mid 1990s.