David S. Lee is an award-winning teacher that is active broadly in the areas of ethics, fintech, leadership, law, and corporate governance. A recipient of multiple teaching excellence and teaching innovation awards, David is the first business academic to ever receive a UGC Teaching Award, the highest university teaching honor in Hong Kong.
David feels teaching is a wonderful privilege and enjoys being in the classroom and engaging with students. He teaches in the undergraduate, executive education, MBA, and other taught postgraduate degree programs, including the IMBA with Fudan University, and the Executive MBA-Global Asia offered with Columbia Business School and London Business School.
He develops case studies and teaching materials in the areas of corporate governance, decision-making, ethics, fintech, and leadership. He has received funding to explore how technology can be used to develop pedagogy and enhance learning. Combining his interests in ethics, finance, technology, and teaching, David is a co-instructor, along with his colleague, David Bishop, for a first of its kind massive open online course (MOOC) titled, FinTech Ethics and Risks, hosted by edX.
David is a co-author of the first Asia focused business ethics textbook, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, An Asia Edition (Cengage Learning Asia, 2019). His commentary and writing regularly appear in print and broadcast media and have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Arirang TV, Handelsblatt, the Nikkei Asian Review, NK News (a North Korea focused specialist news provider), The Korea Times, TRT World, and the South China Morning Post.
Prior to joining the University of Hong Kong, David worked in investment management. He started his career at Goldman Sachs and also has experience as a lawyer, in management consulting, and working with entrepreneurial ventures.
David earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, his M.Sc. (with Merit) in Organisational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science, his M.A. in East Asian Studies from Harvard University, a Postgraduate Certificate in Philosophy from Cambridge, and his B.A., cum laude, in International Politics and Asian Studies from Brigham Young University. David is a lawyer, a CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) charterholder, and a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
David has lived in mainland China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, multiple places in the United States, and currently resides in Hong Kong with his family, who are by far his greatest source of inspiration.
David remains engaged with industry by regularly advising and training companies (including Fortune 500, Fortune 100, Fortune 5 companies), government bodies, board members, and corporate executives on ethics, corporate governance, purpose, and other leadership matters. He also frequently speaks on topics related to ethics, corporate governance, diversity and inclusion, career development, leadership, and the impact of technology.
Additionally, David often works with entrepreneurs, particularly those at the intersection of finance and technology (“fintech”). He has advised businesses on strategic and transactional matters throughout their lifecycle, from receiving seed funding as a new start-up all the way through to exit via acquisition or public listing. David has also worked with both public and private market investors on investment opportunities and the launch of new investment firms.
David is a Visiting Scholar at the East-West Center where he was formerly a POSCO Visiting Fellow. David is also a Network of Korean-American Leaders (NetKAL) Fellow, a Fellow at the Asian Institute of International Financial Law at the University of Hong Kong, and was a Young Leader and a James A. Kelly Fellow (non-resident) at the Pacific Forum, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), where he is currently an Adjunct Fellow.
He also serves on the International Advisory Board for the Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University and on the Asia Advisory Board for the Young Investor Society, a non-profit that provides financial training to secondary school students.
As the inaugural Director for career development at the Faculty of Business and Economics, David is especially interested in helping students as they consider and prepare for different career and life paths.
Academic and Professional Qualifications
J.D., UCLA School of Law
M.Sc., London School of Economics and Political Science
M.A., Harvard University
B.A., Brigham Young University
CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) charterholder
Fellow, The Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Teaching
Accounting, Fintech and Innovation (Master of Accounting)
Business Ethics
Business Law
Company Law
FinTech Ethics & Risks (massive online open course hosted by edX)
Fintech in the Asian Century: Global Implications for Disruption, Inclusion, and Risk (EMBA Global Asia)
Legal and Ethical Environment of Business (Master of Accounting)
Research Interest
Business Ethics
Corporate Governance
Entrepreneurship, FinTech, Venture Capital
Investment Management (activism, hedge funds, value investing)
Organizational Development (careers, culture, decision-making, leadership)
Politics and Economics of the Korean Peninsula (including North Korea)
David is currently engaged in projects related to the ethics and risks of new technology, the impact of rising inequality in Asia, career development and satisfaction, and the reconciliation of the two Koreas.
Selected Publications
Bishop, David L., Lee, David S., Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, John, and Ferrell, Linda. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, An Asia Edition. Cengage Learning Asia, 2019.
