Mr. John William Crawford JP was appointed as an independent non-executive director on January 12, 2017. Mr. Crawford was a member of our audit and risk committee up until March 21, 2018 when he became its chairman. He is also a member of our compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee. Mr. Crawford became an independent non-executive director of Melco International on September 13, 2019 and serves as the chairman of its audit committee and is a member of its nomination and corporate governance committee and its remuneration committee. Mr. Crawford has been the managing director of International Quality Education Limited since 2002 and he was a founding partner of Ernst & Young, Hong Kong, where he acted as engagement or review partner for many public companies and banks during his 25 years in public accounting and was the chairman of the audit division and the vice chairman of the Hong Kong office of the firm prior to retiring in 1997. He has extensive knowledge of accounting issues from his experience as the managing audit partner of this major international accounting firm and also has extensive operational knowledge as a result of his consulting experience.
Mr. Crawford has served as an independent non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee of Regal Portfolio Management Limited of Regal REIT since November 2006 and chairman of its Disclosure Committee since March 2010, and as an independent non-executive director of Entertainment Gaming Asia Inc. (which is a company in the gaming business) since November 2007 up until his resignation on July 3, 2017. In November 2011, Mr. Crawford was appointed as a member of the conflicts committee of our subsidiary SCI and resigned from this position on January 10, 2017. He previously served as an independent non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee of other companies publicly listed in Hong Kong, the most recent of which was E-Kong Group Limited until June 8, 2015.
Mr. Crawford has been deeply involved in the education sector in Asia, including setting up international schools and providing consulting services. He was a member and a governor for many years of the Canadian International School of Hong Kong and through International Quality Education Limited remains active in the start-up, overseeing and consulting for other similar pre-university schools, including the development of five kindergartens to Grade 12 schools in Asia. Additionally, Mr. Crawford is involved in various charitable and/or community activities and was a founding member of UNICEF Hong Kong Committee and the Hong Kong Institute of Directors. In 1997, Mr. Crawford was appointed a Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong. He is a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
