board of directors
Mr Xue has been our Director since 29 October 2003. Mr Xue oversees the overall management and operations of our Group and is also responsible for formulating business strategies and policies of our Group. Mr Xue possesses valuable experience and knowledge of the plastic manufacturing industry, having previously worked as an accountant at the PRC state-owned plastic manufacturing company, Linyi Plastic No.3 F actory (临沂塑料三厂) from 1981 to 1993. In 1993, Mr Xue left to start up Linyi Plastic Engineering Factory (临沂市工程塑料厂), his own plastic manufacturing plant, using his own capital resources. In 1997, he set up Yilida Group Co., Ltd. where he was the Managing Director until August 2003. In 1996, Mr Xue obtained a Bachelor degree in Economics Management from Shandong Nu Zi Xue Yuan (山东女子学院) and subsequently graduated from the Industrial and Commercial Management School - Graduate School of the People's U niversity of China (中国人民大学研究学院-工商管理学院) in 2001 with a Master's degree in Business A dministration (MBA).
Mr Ong is our Independent Director and was appointed our Director on 16 July 2004. He is currently the Managing Director of DLA Piper Singapore. He is also an independent director of China Food Industries Limited and Fabchem China Limited as well as a non-executive director of Teledata (Singapore) Limited. Prior to his current appointment, Mr Ong was the Managing Partner of Messrs J Koh & Co ("Messrs J Koh"), a law firm in Singapore where he has been a partner since 1998. Prior to joining Messrs J Koh, he was a Legal Assistant with two law firms in Singapore, Messrs Rajah & Tan and Messrs Alen & Gledhill. Mr Ong holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the National University of Singapore.
Hao Yanping is our General Manager (Administration) and was appointed our Director on 29 October 2003. Ms Hao is responsible for the overall administration of our Group, including the human resource function. Ms Hao graduated from Jingyu County No. 1 Middle School (靖宇县第一中学) in 1993. Upon graduation, Ms Hao joined Linyi Plastic Engineering F actory (临沂市工程塑料厂) as an A ccountant until 1996. Immediately thereafter, she joined Yilida Group Co., Ltd when it was established in 1997 as the General Manager of Finance. In connection with our Group's restructuring, Ms Hao was transferred to Linyi Sanhe Yongjia Power Co., Ltd in August 2003 where she holds the appointment of General Manager (Administration).
Dr Lim Seck Yeow has been our Director since 25 September 2003. Dr Lim has more than 40 years of experience in the food-related business. He started his career as an Assistant Stock Keeper with Cold Storage Limited and rose through the ranks to become its Sales Manager and eventually it's Asia Regional Sales Manager. Dr Lim holds an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Entrepreneurship from Wisconsin International University in the United States of America.
Dr Richard Charles Helfer is our independent Director and was appointed on 16 July 2004. He is currently Chairman of RCH International Pte Ltd, a strategic tourism/hospitality/lifestyle group of Companies providing all-inclusive services from conceptualization, analysis, planning, restoration/redevelopment, technical services, human resources, implementation of business structures and equity/debt funding/ financing, through to operational management of hotel/resort/tourism projects. Prior to this, Dr Helfer was the founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Raffles International Limited from 1989, and from 1995 he was also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Raffles Holdings Limited. He concurrently held both positions till 2003. Dr Helfer has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Michigan State University, USA and also a Doctor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management, conferred by Johnson & Wales University, USA. Dr Helfer is a member of private and public companies' boards of directors including, SGL Vietnam Development Limited (Chairman), Wharton Scott Pte Ltd, Singapore HealthPartners, Sculpture Square Limited (Chairman) and The Old Parliament House Limited. Dr Helfer is also Advisor to H.E. Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia and also Senior Advisor, at cabinet level, to the five Ministries, which comprise the Tourism Authority of Cambodia.
Mr Seah is our Non-executive Director and was appointed our Director on 5 September 2005. He is currently the Head of Internal Audit of Fabchem China Limited. Mr Seah is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom). Mr Seah was with Deloitte and Touche from 1998 to 2003 and Compact Administrative Services Pte Ltd from 1994 to 1998.
Mr Chen is the General Manager (Operations) of our china operating subsidiary since the subsibiary commenced operations in August 2003. Mr Chen assists our Managing Director in the day-to-day management and operations of our Group, he is also responsible for the overall sales and marketing of our products. In 1994, Mr Chen joined Yilida Group as a Deputy General Manager responsible for manufacturing. From August 2002 to August 2003, he was the General Manager of Operations of Shandong Yongjia Dongli Limited. Mr Chen holds a diploma in Chinese studies from Shandong Linyi Institute of Education.
Mr Zhang has over 20 years of experience in food-related business. From 1998 to 2002, he was a Senior Executive with Shandong Junan Chunyuan Foodstuffs Company. Prior to that, he was a Deputy General Manager with Shandong Meat & Eggs Import & Export Corporation, a compnay in the PRC that engages in food production and distribution, from 1992 to 1998. From 1998 to 1992, he was a Department Manager with Shandong Foodstuffs Import & Export Corporation, a company in the PRC that engages in food production and distribution, Zhang Chengbin started his career in 1983 as a Sales Assistant with National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Import & Export Corp, a company in the PRC that engages in food production and distribution. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Trade from Shandong Economic Institute (山 东经济学院) in the PRC.