To the casual observer of the information technology industry in Hong Kong, the names John Chen Sau-chung, Alfred Chuang Sze-ho and James Lau Koon-sun don't provide similar instant recognition as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Michael Dell.
That's perfectly understandable, since those three Hong Kong-born, US-based IT executives are not directly involved in areas familiar to the average consumer, such as Windows, the iPod or Dell computers.
Recognising these executives should be more important at a time when Hong Kong universities are experiencing a steady decline in IT and business-related enrolments that could alter local manpower capabilities, while tens of thousands of new engineers graduate on the mainland.
Industry veterans such as Automated Systems Holdings managing director Lai Yam-ting considers those executives as good role models - local boys who have done well in their chosen profession - who can help inspire the next generation of IT professionals in Hong Kong.
Mr Chen is chairman, chief executive and president of independent database, information management and wireless technology firm Sybase. He's a technology industry leader, who's also recognised as a corporate turnaround specialist and, uncommonly, a well-informed voice on relations between the US and China. Sybase's total revenues in 2004 hit US$778.536 million and US$778.062 million in 2003.
Mr Chuang is the founder, chairman and chief executive of BEA Systems, a supplier of so-called enterprise infrastructure software. A computer science graduate of the University of San Francisco, Mr Chuang wrote a graduate thesis - Table Tabular Data Objects and their Use in Table Editing - that remains one of the California State Library's most frequently used reference materials on relational database development. BEA last year posted total revenues of US$1.080 billion, up 7 per cent from the previous year.
