Source: ICAEW
Former KPMG China Chairman Carlson Tong was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (“ICAEW”) in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions to Hong Kong’s professional services industry, financial markets and the broader community.
I am honoured to be awarded the ICAEW Outstanding Achievement Award for 2022. The fact that I have received this award reflects the importance of Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre and a bridge to the rest of China and the world. So this award isn’t so much just for me, but also for Hong Kong,” Carlson says. “Thank you for bestowing me with this award which I will forever treasure.
The ICAEW Award Presentation Ceremony was held in London on 22 March 2022
Born in Hong Kong, Carlson began his career with a local accounting firm in Cardiff in 1974 and joined KPMG Cardiff in 1979 after he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He returned to Hong Kong in 1985 and was made a partner in 1989. He was appointed as KPMG's China Chairman in 2007 and Asia-Pacific Chairman in 2009. He retired from KPMG in 2011 after 32 years.
Whilst with KPMG, Carlson worked with a leading state-owned conglomerate in mainland China to restructure its business in the early 1990s which led to its flotation on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the first mainland Chinese company to do so. This landmark transaction contributed to Hong Kong’s current role as a ‘super-connector’ between China and the rest of the world.
Carlson is involved with a large number of community and industry bodies, reflecting his desire to give back to a city that has given him so much throughout his career. He is currently the Chairman of the University Grants Committee (UGC), Chairman of the Independent Commission on Remuneration for Members of the Executive Council and the Legislature and Officials under the Political Appointment System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a member of the Hong Kong Human Resources Planning Commission and a member of the Greater China Advisory Committee of the ICAEW. He was awarded the Golden Bauhinia Star and appointed as a Justice of the Peace by the Government of HKSAR and an Honorary Fellow of the Lingnan University, the Education University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Academy of Finance and the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute respectively.
Carlson’s son, Owen, collected the award on behalf of his father
