Stephen Lau
Adviser to HP-EDS Hong Kong and former Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data for Hong Kong

Cultural Perspectives on Data Privacy in the Orient

Stephen K.M. Lau, Adviser to HP-EDS Hong Kong, was the first Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data for Hong Kong (1996-2001).

Mr. Lau has 30+ years' experience in the information technology and banking industries in both the government and private sectors where he held a number of senior management positions, including Head of Operations and Technology for Citicorp Asia Pacific, President of North Asia for EDS, and Department Head of the Hong Kong Government Data Processing Agency.

In 1984, Mr. Lau was awarded Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his outstanding service to the Hong Kong Government and the community in the area of information technology. In 1986, he was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Hong Kong Computer Society. In June 2001, he was made a Justice of the Peace. In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

Active in community affairs, he holds chairmanships / memberships of a number of advisory committees of the Government and Universities. An Adjunct Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, he is (since mid 2007) the elected Chairman of APICTA (Asia Pacific ICT Alliance) , an umbrella organization of 16 Asia Pacific economies which hosts the annual Asia Pacific ICT Awards to recognize the best-of-the best ICT products and applications to showcase product excellence, bridge the digital divide, and enhance business and professional relationships across the region. In August 2008 he was appointed a Member of the Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee for the UN’s Internet Governance Forum.

Mr. Lau has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manchester, a master’s in computer science from London University, and has completed a senior executive program at the Harvard Business School.