Lai-Chong Au

Group CEO, Delta Asia Financial Group

Founder & Curator, Second Stage

Lai-Chong Au is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Delta Asia Financial Group and serves on its Board of Directors. Lai-Chong rejoined Delta Asia Financial Group - her family’s business - in 2016. As the Group CEO, Lai-Chong is responsible for leading the development and execution of the Group’s long term strategy, in addition to all day-to-day management decisions. She also acts as a direct liaison between the Board, other senior management, as well as employees and stakeholders of the company. Before becoming Group CEO, Lai-Chong oversaw the wealth management & securities brokerage business in Hong Kong.

Prior to rejoining Delta Asia, Lai-Chong was the Senior Marketing and Client Services Manager of Hamon Investment Group. She developed Hamon's asset management business, where she was responsible for expanding the firm's asset size and client base, in addition to broadening their global institutional relationships.

Lai-Chong began her career as Commercial Banking Officer with Delta Asia Credit Limited in 1998 and was later responsible for developing the Group's wealth management business. She has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Lai-Chong is passionate about social responsibility investment and social entrepreneurship and is one of the Founders of Second Stage - a social venture builder dedicated to helping social enterprises operate as scalable and sustainable businesses to positively impact society. Additionally, Lai-Chong is currently an Executive Committee Member of Golden Age Foundation and is a regular columnist at am730.

Lai-Chong graduated from King's College London, UK in BSc Clinical Sciences.

Speaker Session

10:55–11:45

Inside the mind of an Impact CIO

Bridging conviction with reality — that is the central challenge facing impact investment leaders today. As markets reset and volatility lingers, CIOs are reassessing risk, liquidity and long-term return expectations across their portfolios. This candid conversation gets inside the decision-making room: how do you balance idealism with fiduciary responsibility when headwinds mount? Where are leaders leaning in or pulling back, and what gives them the conviction to back emerging managers, new geographies or innovative structures at a time of uncertainty?
Panellists will share how they build internal buy-in, the trade-offs they actually make, and what it really takes to turn impact commitments into capital deployment — with rigour and accountability.