University of Hong Kong picks same headhunter being used by rivals to fill top post
Search firm had previously helped the University of Edinburgh hire HKU’s outgoing head Peter Mathieson and raises questions about a possible conflict of interest
The University of Hong Kong is facing tough competition in its search for a new vice-chancellor as two other top Asian universities are seeking new chiefs through the same headhunter.
The HKU search committee tasked with finding Mathieson’s successor announced on Thursday that it had appointed the headhunting agency to source the best qualified candidates.
According to online information, Perrett Laver is also helping Chinese University and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University in the search for their next vice-chancellors.
Professor William Cheung Sing-wai, chairman of HKU’s academic staff association, raised concern about a conflict of interest.
“It’s like doing one project while receiving rewards from three clients,” Cheung said. “This is really inappropriate.”