Prof. Stan Ho is a seasoned investment banking and credit rating expert, having held senior management positions at global and Chinese credit rating agencies with solid experience in China credit rating and capital market transactions, green finance and ESG rating. He has ECM, DCM and M&A experience in CS First Boston, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns. He was with Fitch Ratings from 2003 to 2013, with his last position as the Head of Non-Japan Asia structured finance group. His oversight included securitisation, covered bonds and REIT corporate rating for Non-Japan Asian issuers. He was the founding CEO, Executive Director and Responsible Officer of Lianhe Ratings Global Limited (the Hong Kong based subsidiary of one of the two largest domestic credit rating agencies in Mainland China) between 2017 and 2023.
Prof. Ho is a seasoned green finance external review and ESG rating expert. Prof. Ho is the Chief Representative of Syntao Green Finance International Ltd. with direct experience in external review of sustainable finance framework and green and sustainability-linked financing of Chinese and Hong Kong companies. Prof. Ho is the Green Finance Certification Scheme Technical Committee Member of Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA), where he is one of the approval members of the HKQAA green certification of the bonds issued, and loans borrowed, by Chinese and Hong Kong corporates and financial institutions.
Prof. Ho is a very active education and training expert in sustainable finance and ESG. Prof. Ho is the Academic Dean of the Institute of Sustainability and Technology (IST), the Senior Advisor of the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), the Green Finance and Sustainability Subject Advisory Panel Member of Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB), the ECF-GSF Core Level Programme Advisory Panel and Subject Advisory Panel Member of HKIB, the Faculty Lecturer of the Executive Certificate in ESG Analysis & Green Finance Valuation of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong (FoE HK), the Faculty Member of Green and Sustainable Finance Certificate of Deloitte HK, the Guest Lecturer of the Certificate in Green and Sustainable Finance of Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA), the Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA®) Examiner of European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) and the Senior Professional Advisory Committee Member of GBA Carbon Neutrality Association (GBA CNA)
Prof. Ho was the only arts student scoring 9As in Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) in 1989. Prof. Ho graduated with BBA in Information Systems from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), MBA from University of Cambridge, and DBA from City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Prof. Ho was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by CityU College of Business in 2022. Prof. Ho completed executive education courses in Managerial Psychology at CEIBS and Artificial Intelligence – Implications for Business Strategy at MIT Sloan School of Management. Prof. Ho is EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA®) and SGS ESG Reporting Analyst.