Prof Chan received his BBA from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and his MBA, MA, and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. He started out his academic career as Assistant Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School of Management of the Northwestern University in 1982 and was promoted to Associate Professor three years later. Prof. Chan joined the Marshall School of Business of the University of Southern California in 1986 and was appointed the Justin Dart Professor of Finance in 1990.

 Prof Chan moved back to Hong Kong in 1991 to help establish the business school of HKUST, a brand new university of Hong Kong at that time. He first served as Deputy Head and Professor of the Department of Finance and Economics, and then as the Chairman of Faculty of the business school. Prof Chan was appointed the Founding Dean of the business school in 1993 and championed the significant developments of the school through 2000.  He was appointed the Vice-President for Academic Affairs of HKUST in 2001 and led the academic development of the university for six years.

Prof Chan has been active in promoting international exchanges and collaborations among universities in Asia, North America and Europe. During his tenure as Dean of the HKUST business school, he was invited to serve as a director of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and of the AACSB International, and a member of the latter's International Advisory Council. As part of its globalization initiatives, HKUST business school was the first Asian school to achieve dual accreditation by the AACSB International and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD - EQUIS). In 1997, the HKUST Business School also launched the first joint EMBA Program in Asia with the Kellogg School of Management of the Northwestern University.

Prof Chan is active in professional and community services in Hong Kong. He is chairman of the Advisory Committee on Social Work Training and Manpower Planning, a member of the Process Review Panel for the Securities and Futures Commission and of the Public Service Commission. He had served as a director and deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company and a member of the Advisory Committee of the HSI Services Limited, the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, the Standing Committee on Disciplined Service Salaries and Conditions of Services, the Steering Committee on Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism, and chairman of the Pay Trend Survey Committee. In the area of higher education, he had served as a member of the Council of the Open University of Hong Kong and the Education Commission's Task Force on Senior Secondary Education and Interface with Higher Education.

February 2008