In recognition of six marketing professionals for their outstanding works, the Hong Kong Institute of Marketing held the Annual Membership Awarding Ceremony at its 35^th Anniversary dinner party on September 19th 2017. Stella So, dean and associate professor of the School of Management and Economics in CUHK-Shenzhen were among those to receive this honored title.

Prof. Stella So currently runs marketing courses at the School of Management and Economics of CUHK-Shenzhen. Under her supervision, students have reaped awards in many international business competitions. Her students once won the championship in the South China Section of 2017 HSBC Mainland China Business Case Competition and advanced to the final of 2017 HSBC Asia Pacific Business Case Competition. The student team led by her won the Tech Award of “L’Oréal BRANDSTORM 2017” and was awarded the trip to Paris all paid by L’Oréal company, including the air tickets and hotel accommodation. During her time with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin), Professor Stella So served on the panel of judges in various competitions organized by commercial and non-profit organizations.

“I always felt younger whenever I saw the passion and dedication displayed by our students during their spirited discussion that often leads to new ideas”, she said. She also suggests that participating in business case competitions offers students the opportunity to practice what they learned from textbooks under real business settings, where they can accumulate much useful experience and see their own potential for innovation.

Founded on November 12^th 1982, the Hong Kong Institute of Marketing (HKIM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting marketing practices in Hong Kong through its activities, training and education programmes.

Biography:

Professor Stella, So Lai Man is currently Associate Professor of Marketing and Assistant Dean of the School of Management and Economics of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). Before joining CUHK (SZ), she was Associate Professor in Department of Marketing in The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin) since 1986 and Associate Dean for the Business School. She has extensive teaching experience in Marketing Management, Strategic Marketing, Integrated Communications, Luxury Brand Management, Business Consulting Services etc.

Professor Stella So has made contributions in various international academic journals in research topics of luxury brand marketing, communications and advertising, media strategies and appeared in The Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Promotional Management etc. She received the Award for Excellence, Outstanding Paper of the Year by Journal of Consumer Marketing. She also has published books on branding and luxury branding.

During her time with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin), Professor Stella So was active in university administrative work for both the Business School and Chung Chi College, particularly in student related programmes. She helped as members in panel of judges in various competitions organized by various commercial and non-profit organizations.

In addition to her academic contributions, Professor Stella So also has a wide range of consulting experiences with many multinational companies and government offices, such as The US Consulate, The US Food Board, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Shell Petrol, 4As Advertising Association etc. She is also actively serving the Hong Kong government and members of many government and industrial committees, such as Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Board, Industrial and Trade Department of HK Government (SME Committee), Chartered Institute of Marketing etc. Currently, she is the Chairperson of CDC-HKEAA Committee on Business, Accounting and Financial Studies, (2015 – 2017), Hong Kong Education Bureau.