Andy Chun

Andy Chun (born 1959 in Hong Kong) is a Chinese American academic, engineer, innovator, and entrepreneur. He is currently the Chief Information Officer of the City University of Hong Kong, a leading comprehensive research university which has been ranked among the world’s top 10 young universities according to the 2011 QS World University Rankings. Chun is a member of the University Management Board, and is responsible for all aspects of the University's ICT infrastructure, systems and services. He joined the City University of Hong Kong in 1994, and is a tenured Associate Professor in Computer Science. He was appointed to the Chief Information Officer position in 2009.

Notable achievements include IT leadership in transforming the University to its new “Discovery-Enriched Curriculum”® and achieving the 334 Scheme objectives, creating a new student-centric teaching/learning environment that leverages mobility, social, cloud and business intelligence. For this work, he was named a 2013 Premier 100 IT Leader by Computerworld.

He was also named by his peers as the 2012 CIO of the year for HK medium enterprises, and one of the 2010 Top 5 CIOs in Greater China. Through his IT leadership, the University received numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureates – for the use of IT to promote positive social, economic and educational change, 2012 FutureGov Award – for the most successful modernization programs in Asia Pacific region, and the 2012 CIO Award – for realizing business value.

Chun serves as an IT advisor to the Hong Kong Government and sits in various Government committees, including the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee, which oversees Hong Kong's overall long-term ICT strategies.

Chun is also a leading expert on Artificial Intelligence, specializing in enterprise optimization and scheduling. He has been an AI consultant for many large organizations in Hong Kong, helping them improve efficiencies, resource utilization, and service quality, including the MTR Corporation, Environmental Protection Department, Immigration Department (Hong Kong), Swire Group, Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Hospital Authority, Café de Coral, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited, Modern Terminals Limited, Kowloon Motor Bus, Hongkong International Terminals Ltd., and Civil Aviation Department (Hong Kong). For his work in the application of Artificial Intelligence in Hong Kong, he received the 2008 Outstanding IT Achiever Awards from the Hong Kong Computer Society.

Education

Chun studied Electrical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, and received his Bachelor of Science in 1981. At IIT, Chun was inducted into Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu. He also served as the President of the Delta Chapter of Eta Kappa Nu from 1980 to 1981. For his contributions to student life at IIT, Chun received a Clinton E. Stryker Distinguished Service Award.

Chun attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for his graduate studies, focusing on artificial intelligence research. He worked with AI pioneers Prof. Donald Michie and Prof. David Waltz as his graduate advisers, working on massively parallel (computing) and knowledge representation and reasoning. He obtained a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering.

Early career

Chun started his career in Boston as Project Manager/Senior Scientist at Honeywell Bull while finishing up his PhD thesis. After obtaining his PhD in 1987, he joined MIT’s Prof. Patrick Winston’s new startup Ascent Technology, and worked on the design and implementation of mission critical IT systems for airline, airport, and defense industries. Chun was a key member of the Ascent software development team, participated in projects for several major airlines around the world, applying artificial intelligence to mathematical optimization and scheduling (computing).

In late 80’s, he taught briefly at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, before appointed as the Asia-Pacific Managing Director of the German software firm Interface Computer, GmbH, which focuses on AI Prolog technology and software development. Chun established the Hong Kong office and collaborated with Interface Computer offices around the world on strategies and projects. He later rejoined Ascent to oversee Pacific Rim airport projects before joining the City University of Hong Kong.

Career at CityU (1994-present)

Chun joined the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) in 1994 and was tenured in 1997. He taught initially in the Department of Electronic Engineering and then in the Department of Computer Science where he was appointed the Program Leader for the Computer Science undergraduate program and Subject Group Leader for Software Engineering. His research covered artificial intelligence, knowledge management, business Intelligence, software engineering, Web-based technologies, software architecture, and middle ware technologies.

Chun was concurrently a Senior IT Consultant for the CityU Professional Services Ltd (CPS), a wholly owned commercialization arm of CityU. At CPS, he helped companies from a wide range of industries to successfully leverage AI technology to optimize efficiency, transform services, and improve overall customer satisfaction; resulting in many international award-winning IT systems that benefits millions of citizens daily. Chun also founded two subsidiaries for CityU and acted as their CEO.

Chun was promoted to the position of the Chief Information Officer in 2009, and is responsible for driving innovation and overseeing the University’s central IT organization which supports roughly 30,000 students and over 4,000 staff. As CIO, Chun is responsible for all aspects of the University’s ICT infrastructure, enterprise systems, services and long-term strategies to support teaching, learning, research, and administrative operations.

Public Services

• Member of the "Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee" (Nov 2012 – Nov 2014), which is the highest-level government advisory body on information technology matters under the Government of Hong Kong
• Member of the "Hong Kong/Guangdong Expert Committee on Cloud Computing Services and Standards" (Jul 2012 – Jul 2014), established by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Economic and Information Commission of Guangdong Province, aiming to strengthen co-operation of the two places in Informatisation
• Member of the "Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services and Standards" (Apr 2012 – Apr 2014), established by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, aiming to facilitate and drive cloud computing adoption and deployment in Hong Kong

Honors and Awards

• 2013 Premier 100 IT Leader - organized by Computerworld – this global life-time recognition honors individuals who have had a positive impact on their organizations through technology. Chun was named a Premier IT Leader for transformational change he brought.
• 2012 Hong Kong CIO Award - organized by Computerworld HK and CIO Connect – this “CIO of the Year” award was presented to Chun for being "an innovative leader in the transformational use of IT in education and his vision of the future in how to shape his organization through emerging technology."
• 2010 China Top 5 CIO Award – organized by CEO & CIO China and International Data Corporation Group – recognizes the top 5 most outstanding CIOs in Greater China who were able to optimize business through IT to meet changing social needs. Chun was awarded for his vision in how IT can bring transformational benefits to higher education to meet 21st century needs.
• 2008 Outstanding IT Achiever Award – organized by the HK Computer Society – recognizes long-term achievements of individuals who have made a significant contribution to HK society and economic development. Chun received this award for his decade of Artificial Intelligence work that contributed to improving competitiveness of HK and quality of life for its citizens.
• 1998 Innovator Award – organized by the EDN Asia – Chun received this award for his Artificial Intelligence research and innovations that helped HK businesses solve challenging optimization and scheduling problems.