Reliable exporters: find them and meet them

Spenser Au
Chief Executive Officer


Mr. Au was appointed as our Chief Executive Officer in August, 2011. Mr. Au first became a team member in 1978 as an account executive for Asian Sources Electronics magazine. The positions through which he advanced to senior management included regional sales manager in 1988, associate publisher in 1991, publisher in 1992 and president of Asian Sales in 1999. Mr. Au has a deep knowledge of Greater China and other markets where the company operates. Mr. Au received a Diploma in Business Management in 1977 from the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Brent Barnes
Chief Operating Officer


Mr. Barnes was appointed as our chief operating officer in January 2012. Mr. Barnes is responsible for the company's worldwide operations, including community development, content development, human resources and administration. Mr. Barnes began his career handling operations for a group of lobbyists in Austin, Texas. Later, he moved to Mexico City, where he designed and delivered training programs for executives at Ford Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz. Upon completion of his MBA, Mr. Barnes spent a year working as a Market Analyst for Global Sources in Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Hong Kong to become Executive Assistant to the Chairman & CEO in June of 2000. Since 2003 he has spent time managing each of the core operational departments and assumed the role of General Manager of Content & Community Development in December 2009. Mr. Barnes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Connie Lai
Chief Financial Officer


Ms. Lai was appointed as our Chief Financial Officer effective August 2010. Ms. Lai joined Global Sources in June 2007 as financial controller, Hong Kong & China. Prior to joining Global Sources, she was chief financial officer and an executive director of HC International, Inc., a Hong Kong listed company. Earlier in her career, she spent over four years with PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC") Hong Kong. Ms. Lai graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor's degree in professional accountancy. She is also a Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Peter Zapf
Chief Information Officer


Mr. Zapf was appointed as our chief information officer in January 2012. Mr. Zapf began his career in software project management with the United States Air Force. He then joined Global Sources in Phoenix, Arizona, working on the development, sales and marketing of the company's early software and e-commerce products. Later, he worked as a research analyst at Bear Stearns in New York, focusing on the business-to-business market, after which he joined Hong Kong-based AsiaCommerce, a startup incubator, as Chief Executive Officer. He rejoined Global Sources in 2001, and was chief operating officer from January 2011 to December 2011. Mr. Zapf holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, an MS in Computer Science from Troy State University, and an MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.

Craig Pepples
President of Corporate Affairs and Publisher of Chief Executive China


Craig Pepples is President of Corporate Affairs and Publisher of Chief Executive China. Mr. Pepples is responsible for the sales, marketing and operations for the company's leading China management title, Chief Executive China. He is also responsible for Global Sources' Corporate Marketing and Corporate Communications.

Mr. Pepples joined Global Sources in October 1986, moving on to manage the company's China sales operations from 1989 to 1992 and was Country Manager for China from 1992 to 1999. From 1999 to 2010, Mr. Pepples was Global Sources' Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Pepples graduated with a B.A. in Linguistics from Yale University.

Brandon Smith
President of eMedia Asia Ltd.


Brandon Smith is President of eMedia Asia Ltd, Global Sources' joint venture with United Business Media's EETimes Group. He oversees the online and print editions of Electronic Engineering Times-Asia and Electronics Supply & Manufacturing-China, as well as a range of customized marketing services and IIC-China, the premier design event in mainland China. He also leads the company's strategic alliance with Penton to execute the online and print editions of Electronic Design-China.

In addition, Mr. Smith manages the online and print editions of Global Sources' Electronic Component vertical.

Mr. Smith joined Global Sources in 1989 as a sales representative in Taiwan. He has since served in many responsibilities, including: Regional Sales Manager, Associate Publisher, Chief Representative for China, Chief Representative for the USA, and as Group Publisher.

Tommy Wong
President of Global Sources Exhibitions


Tommy Wong was appointed President of Global Sources Exhibitions in October 2009. He manages sales, marketing and operations for Global Sources' successful China Sourcing Fair trade shows series in Hong Kong, Dubai, Miami, Mumbai, Brazil and Johannesburg.

Mr. Wong joined the company in 1986 as an account executive for Asian Sources Hardwares magazine and has progressively advanced to senior management positions, including Country Manager of the Consumer Products Group, General Manager of Asian Sales and Associate Publisher of Chief Executive China magazine.  

He has served as General Manager of Global Sources Exhibitions since 2003. He is recognized as an excellent sales leader, a strong team builder, and as a committed member of Global Sources' team.

Board of Directors

Merle A. Hinrich
Executive Chairman

Sarah Benecke
Ms. Benecke has been a Director since April 2000. Ms. Benecke served as the company's Chief Executive Officer from 1994 to 1999, when under her leadership, the company launched its flagship website, Global Sources Online in 1995, its CD-ROMs as well as a number of new and successful publications.

From 2003 until 2010, Ms. Benecke has been a consultant to Publishers Representatives Ltd. (Hong Kong), a subsidiary of the company. Her consulting work has been focused on the launch, development and expansion of the China Sourcing Fairs in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Dubai, Singapore and Johannesburg. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Eddie Heng
Mr. Heng has been a director since April 2000. He joined us in August 1993 as deputy to the vice president of finance and was the Chief Financial Officer (previously titled vice president of finance) from 1994 until June 30, 2009. Mr. Heng returned to serve as Interim Chief Financial Officer from June 30, 2010 until August 1, 2010. He received an MBA from Schiller International University in London in 1993, is a Singapore Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Singapore, and a Fellow Member of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom. Mr. Heng is currently a director and audit committee chairman of Prison Fellowship Singapore, a Christian non-profit organization that provides counseling and skills training to prisoners and financial support to their families. Prior to joining us, he was the regional financial controller of Hitachi Data Systems, a joint venture between Hitachi and General Motors. His term as director expires in 2013.

Roderick Chalmers
Mr. Chalmers has been a director since October 2000. He was chairman, Asia-Pacific, of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and a member of PwC's Global Management Board from 1998 until his retirement in July 2000. He is a 30-year veteran with PwC's merger partner Coopers & Lybrand with specialist experience in the securities industry. He has at various times been a non-executive director of the Hong Kong SAR Securities and Futures Commission, a member of the Takeovers and Mergers Panel, and chairman of the Working Group on Financial Disclosure. He is currently a director of Air Malta plc, the Gasan Group Limited (Malta), and Simonds Farsons Cisk Limited (Malta). He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Valletta plc from 2004 until his retirement from that position in 2012. His term as director expires in 2015.

 

David Jones
Mr. Jones has been a director since April 2000. From August 2011 to February 2013, Mr. Jones was with Better Place Inc., a global electric vehicle services provider, where he was Vice President Global Corporate Development and Strategy. He spent the previous 17 years in the private equity industry, and before that he was in management consulting, investment banking and general management. Mr. Jones was Managing Director of CHAMP Private Equity, a leading Australian buyout firm from 2002 to 2011. In 1999, he founded and, until 2002, led the development of UBS Capital's Australian and New Zealand business. Prior to that, he spent four years with Macquarie Direct Investment, a venture capital firm in Sydney, Australia, and one year at BancBoston Capital in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Jones began his career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company in Australia and New Zealand. He left McKinsey to take the role of general manager of Butterfields Cheese Factors, of the King Island Dairies group. He is a director of EC English Pty Ltd, EMR Capital Pty Ltd and The National Museum of Australia. He was previously Chairman of the Australian Venture Capital Association Limited and a director of various listed and unlisted companies in Australia. Mr. Jones holds a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Hons.) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. His term as director expires in 2014.

James Watkins
Mr. Watkins was appointed as a casual director, (see "Election or Removal of Directors" under Item 10 for a description of a "casual director") on February 28, 2005 and was elected as a director at our annual general meeting on May 9, 2005. Mr. Watkins was a director and group general counsel of the Jardine Matheson Group in Hong Kong from 1997 until 2003. He was group legal director of Schroders plc in 1996 to 1997 and of Trafalgar House plc from 1994 to 1996. He was previously a partner and solicitor in the London and Hong Kong offices of Linklaters from 1975 to 1994. He currently is a non-executive director of Mandarin Oriental International Ltd., Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation Ltd., IL&FS India Realty Fund II LLC, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Ltd. and Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd., and is a member of the audit committees of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Ltd. and the chairman of the audit committee of Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation Ltd. Mr. Watkins has a law degree from the University of Leeds (First Class Hons.). His term as director expires in 2014.

Peter Yam
Mr. Yam was first appointed as a director at our annual general meeting of shareholders on June 22, 2011. Mr. Yam joined Emerson (NYSE: EMR) in 1986 and is currently an advisor to Emerson after he retired as president of Emerson Greater China and chairman of Emerson Electric (China) Holdings Co., Ltd in April 2008. For more than two decades, Mr. Yam played a key role in leading Emerson's investments in China. Mr. Yam holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hong Kong and an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago. Since June 2010, Mr. Yam has served as a non-executive director of ISG Asia Investment (HK) Ltd. He is also currently an adjunct professor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Business Administration Department of Management and a member of the College Council and the Board of Governors of the Centennial College, Hong Kong. Mr. Yam was previously a member of the Suzhou Industrial Park International Advisory Committee from 2001 to 2008, a director of the Executive Committee of Foreign Investment Companies in Beijing from 2003 to 2008, a non-executive director of Sun Life Hong Kong Limited and affiliates from 2003 to 2010 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation from 2001 to 2006, and he also previously served as a vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, a visiting professor of Nanjing University's School of Business and a visiting professor of Jiangmen Polytechnic in China. His term as director expires in 2014.