UCL Chair of Council Victor Chu Receives Distinguished Service Award at Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards

UCL Chair of Council Victor Chu Receives Distinguished Service Award at Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards

(IN BRIEF) Victor Chu CBE, the Chair of UCL Council, has been honored with a special Distinguished Service Award at the 12th Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards held during the United Nations General Assembly Week in New York. The award recognizes Victor Chu’s unique contributions to the Atlantic Council and his efforts to make the world a better place. Among the other distinguished recipients were Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and US Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen. Victor Chu has been a valuable and engaged member of the UCL alumni community since earning his undergraduate degree in Law at UCL in 1979. He has also played a foundational role in UCL’s thriving Hong Kong alumni community. Victor Chu is the Chairman and CEO of First Eastern Investment Group and a member of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board. He expressed his humility and delight in receiving the award, emphasizing the importance of collaboration across disciplines and geographies to address global challenges and uphold principles of diversity and inclusion. The award ceremony traditionally brings together a high-level international audience, including heads of state, UN ambassadors, business leaders, and artists, to celebrate individuals who embody global citizenship. UCL President and Provost, Dr. Michael Spence, lauded Victor Chu’s immense contributions to the international community and his steady leadership during challenging times.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 26-Sep-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Victor was honoured at the 12th Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards, alongside fellow recipients including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida, Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, and US Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen.

He received the Distinguished Service Award for his unique contributions to the Atlantic Council and making a better world.

Victor has been Chair of UCL Council since 2019, continuing a long association with the university that began when he took his undergraduate degree in Law. After graduating in 1979, Victor became an involved and enthusiastic member of UCL’s global alumni community, acting as a valuable advisor and advocate for the university and playing a foundational role in UCL’s now thriving Hong Kong alumni community.

Outside of UCL, Victor is chairman and CEO of First Eastern Investment Group and a member of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board. He receives a special Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the Atlantic Council and a better world.

Victor said: “I am delighted, and feel very humbled, to receive this special Award, particularly when the previous recipient was Dr Henry Kissinger. We live at a time of unprecedented global challenges, as well as opportunities, which require much more, and not less collaboration across disciplines, geography and different stakeholder interests to strengthen resilience, sustainability and, hopefully peace and prosperity, for our future generations. UCL’s foundational mission to pursue diversity, inclusion and equality remains the guiding principle for our collective efforts to improve the state of the world.”

The honourees were recognised at a ceremony on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly week in New York. The event celebrates unique individuals who embody the notion of global citizenship and has traditionally brought together a high-level international audience of current and former heads of state, UN ambassadors, members of the US administration, global business leaders, and world-renowned artists.

UCL President and Provost, Dr Michael Spence, who attended the ceremony, said: “Victor is a true global citizen, and seeing his immense international contributions recognised in this way is a really proud moment for all of us at UCL. He has been an active member of the UCL community in one form or another for over four decades now, volunteering with incredible generosity his time, which is a highly in-demand commodity, and his far-reaching expertise and wisdom. He has been Chair of Council through a period of enormous challenge and unpredictability, and his steady, long-sighted, perceptive leadership has been invaluable. Our huge congratulations go to him on receiving this Distinguished Service Award from the Atlantic Council.”

Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, said: “In an ever-changing world, it’s easy to turn inward and away from acts of global citizenship that deserve our appreciation. Our honourees embody the Council’s values – of working with friends and allies in forging partnerships across oceans, hemispheres, and languages to foster peace and prosperity across the globe.”

Media Contact:

Dr Matt Midgley
E: m.midgley [at] ucl.ac.uk

SOURCE: University College London