Kwai Bun

Graduated from Digital Graphic Communications of Hong Kong Baptist University, Kwai Bun started his life adventure as a flight attendant and world traveller. Inspired by his great journeys, he continued his enthusiasm in the computer graphics realm, and founded ManyMany Creations Ltd. His short film “a Robot’s Worth” has won several animation awards globally, and ManyMany has been awarded several entrepreneurial awards. Kwai Bun has also been a lecturer for the degree course where he graduated from.

Started with 2 PC in a village house, ManyMany has grown rapidly. During the years, Kwai Bun has transformed himself from an artist into a business leader. ManyMany’s business network soon spread outside Hong Kong into an international context. Perhaps due to his traveling background, Kwai Bun has a big will to bring the company to the world.

“People, are always what we focused on, both our nice clients and our lovely, talented colleagues. In our profession, quality service, creativity and technical excellence are always our priorities” said Kwai Bun. It may sound like a cliché, but that is quite true in the culture of ManyMany.

“Personally, I enjoy my work very much. Creations and adventures are very important for me. At first, I thought the goal of starting a business was to bring me money and choices in the end. Then I could enjoy travelling and adventures. Now I think I don’t need to wait until the end before I can enjoy an adventurous life. Everyday is full of creations and adventures.”

Stef Lewandowski

Stef Lewandowski is a leading figure in the development and promotion of Birmingham and the region’s creative industries. He is managing director of 3form, an award winning creative agency, and Type Records.

3form specialises in website design, online gaming and interactive design services. The company’s client portfolio includes Vivienne Westwood, the V&A and lastminute.com. Type Records is an experimental music label representing an international roster of artists. With the rapid growth of the digital industry, both 3form and Type Records are working internationally to create and distribute digital content.

As a young entrepreneur from a rapidly growing creative business, Stef was invited by the DCMS to sit on the Business Support for the Creative Industries working group. Stef has also been instrumental in establishing Creative Birmingham Business, a representative body for the creative and cultural industries in Birmingham and the region, and regularly speaks at industry events to raise awareness of the creative sector. In 2005 Stef was named as Birmingham Young Professional of the Year and in December 2006 was awarded Alumnus of the Year by Birmingham University.

Emma Peios

In the spirit of plant hunters of the past Emma Peios is a 21th century version, exploring and pioneering digital technology with a creative horticultural element. Her online business www.pollen-photos.com was one of the first specialist image libraries to supply instant downloadable images of contemporary garden and plant related imagery. As a result of this entrepreneurial project she recently became commercial director of Garden Photographer of the Year in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

Emma Peios was born in North Yorkshire to Greek and Welsh parents and grew up in the States, Greece, Eire and the UK. Emma became interested in photography from the age of 10 and since then has continued to travel with her camera. She has been working as a commercial photography for 10 years, supplying stunning graphic and illustrative imagery for clients such as Marks and Spencer.

Stafford Sumner

Stafford Sumner is the Managing Director of Jarrang, an email marketing agency based in Cornwall, UK. Stafford made the move to Cornwall from London in early 2003 where he established the business which has seen significant growth in a rapidly developing sector.

Jarrang harnesses the power of email to deliver marketing communications that engage customers, build loyalty and generate sales for its clients across a range of industries.

Stafford's vision for the future is to grow a global brand that harnesses the power of the internet and maximises online creativity whilst becoming a key player in the worldwide digital media industry.

Amy Tsang

Amy is currently the Assistant General Manger of Jidou Limited.Amy joined Jidou Limited, a digital entertainment powerhouse in Hong Kong in 2001 and has played a major role in creating Jidousports, the first international sports animation brand from Hong Kong. As the producer of the company's first full-length 26 episode TV animation series “Jidougames”, she has made independent TV history by having it broadcasted on Hong Kong Cable TV in 2006. This independent local production has recently garnered the HKICT Awards 2006 Digital Entertainment (Digital Animation) Gold Award. It is also currently being broadcasted on multi-platforms worldwide with significant deals signed with licensing agents, TV broadcasters, mobile operators, licensees, etc. in strategic locations outside of Hong Kong including Indonesia, the Philippines, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece USA, and Malaysia.

Having received her training in Business Administration majoring in Information Technology at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Amy has been able to combine Information Technology with International Business Development in this fast-growing industry sector, thus becoming a part of Hong Kong's home-grown new force in digital entertainment. Amy believes that her background in licensing and branding can leverage local digital entertainment to a more competitive level in other parts of the world as exemplified by the developments at Jidou Limited.

Wallis Wong

Wallis Wong has active involvement in IT and wireless industry in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. He founded his first start up company, 3 Dynamics (Asia) Limited, in 2004. His role is to formulate corporate business strategy and develop international markets for the company. Under his leadership, 3 Dynamics has become one of the top innovators in Hong Kong, leveraging location-based technology in 3G game applications. He has successfully developed and launched more than 20 mobile games and services including two award winning games, 3G Mopas and Hong Kong War.

Before founding 3 Dynamics, Wallis had worked as the IT Service Manager of BMK Networks, offering consulting services on network systems, mobile solutions and security assessments for clients.

Wallis holds a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Electronic Engineering and a Professional Diploma in Information and Internet Security from City University of Hong Kong. After graduation, Wallis had worked as a Research Assistant at the Teletraffics and Networking Laboratory, Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong.

What next?

The judges chose the digital pioneers for their leadership potential, innovative business success in digital media, strong sense of market (both in Hong Kong and the UK), interest in new cultures and the ability to be an ambassador for their country. We will now be working to find suitable mentors in Hong Kong and the UK for each winner.

In March, the three UK winners and mentors will fly to Hong Kong for the official award ceremony and to take part in the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum at Cyberport. They will meet their counterparts in Hong Kong and spend two days with their mentors. At the end of this week, all six will fly back and spend a week in the UK. Here there will be more development exercises, tailored study visits and networking opportunities.

After these trips, the Digital Pioneers will continue to be mentored and will plan another individual trip between May and November which may include a placement at their mentor’s workplace.

The six Digital Pioneers will also become part of the growing network under British Council’s creative entrepreneurs’ programmes.

Please go to Opportunities Offered to Digital Pioneer Finalists for more on the exciting opportunities the six Digital Pioneers will be embarking on this year and stay tuned for more information about the Digital Pioneers programme coming shortly!