Lead Mind Series | Dr Chung Kin-lai (EMBA 2011) drives visionary change to lead CUHK Medical Centre into its next frontier

CUHK Business School boasts an extraordinary alumni network of visionary founders, executives and pioneers. Through the Lead Mind Series, we sit down with these distinguished figures to uncover their management philosophies, leadership wisdom, and strategic vision. Dive into their journeys and gain actionable insights to inspire your own professional path.

Great management is rarely just about technical expertise; it hinges on a willingness to break free from conventional thinking and draw inspiration from diverse fields. Having spent over three decades in public healthcare, Dr Chung Kin-lai (EMBA 2011) took the helm at CUHK Medical Centre (CUHKMC) last year. Refusing to limit his own horizon, Dr Chung’s transition from frontline clinical practice to hospital administration — and now from the public system to the private sector — has given him a profound understanding of healthcare delivery.

At the heart of his management philosophy lies a drive to break deadlocks and spearhead change. By applying hospitality service standards and e-commerce customer experience models to hospital operations, he has not only driven revenue growth but also elevated expectations for private care. This empathetic shift in perspective echoes the classic insight that “true vision comes when both eyes see as one” — proving that only an open, cross-disciplinary mindset can unlock new possibilities in healthcare.

Uniting teams through professional governance

Dr Chung admits he was never a traditional “model student” — he studied purely out of interest. That changed in Form 4, when the tragic loss of a close family member to illness galvanised his resolve to pursue medicine. After graduating with distinction, he launched his medical career as a neurosurgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, later joining Tuen Mun Hospital as a founding member of its newly formed Accident & Emergency (A&E) department.

Rising through the administrative ranks, Dr Chung served as Chief Executive at both North District Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, forging deep ties across New Territories communities. He modestly attributes this rapport to his duties, noting that his role simply gave him more opportunities to engage with local leaders: “It certainly taught me a great deal about communicating with diverse communities.” Whether debating policy in the Legislative Council, mingling with business executives, or sharing a warm toast with rural village elders, he values every connection. That effortless ability to bridge different worlds — to be as comfortable in a boardroom as at a local banquet — reflects years of mutual trust and support. For Dr Chung, authentic communication is the only way healthcare can truly serve every corner of society.

While external relations require adaptability and tact, leading within demands reason and respect for expertise. Managing a hospital means leading top-tier minds across diverse fields — a challenge Dr Chung meets by returning medical authority to domain experts, trusting the clinical judgment and frontline experience of his teams. Since becoming CEO at CUHKMC, he has refined its governance framework by appointing senior professors as department heads to jointly shape major decisions. This setup capitalises on the institutional prestige of a university teaching hospital while cultivating trust and collaboration between executive leadership and healthcare staff.

Borrowing best practices to reshape private healthcare

As CUHKMC marks its fifth anniversary, Dr Chung’s roadmap is clear and grounded: optimise operational performance to deliver high-quality care at accessible prices, demonstrating the true value of private healthcare. To realise this vision, he draws inspiration from beyond traditional clinical boundaries to elevate the patient journey. He sent staff for hospitality training at CUHK Business School’s teaching hotel, prompting them to view facilities and care through the eyes of a hotel guest. A subtle yet meaningful change — providing bath towels for inpatients — exemplifies this perspective shift. “Transparent pricing is merely the baseline; patients naturally expect thoughtful, attentive care,” Dr Chung observes. “Reasonable fees are not a reason to stand still. We must constantly push boundaries to refine every touchpoint.”

The hospital also adopted customer service practices from e-commerce platforms, upgrading to 24/7 human-operated phone lines and replacing social media chatbots with dedicated staff. “When even a late night purchase of a $50 item online comes with warm, responsive support, it sets the benchmark for modern service expectations,” Dr Chung explains. “Healthcare should strive for that same standard.”

These empathetic refinements have yielded tangible results in both reputation and financial standing. Looking beyond operational improvements, Dr Chung aims to transcend geographic boundaries by extending Hong Kong’s medical excellence into the Greater Bay Area. The hospital plans to explore deeper synergies with its sister institution, CUHK-Shenzhen Hospital, leveraging their complementary strengths.

Dr Chung believes that as CUHK Medical Centre is rooted in CUHK and the New Territories community, it must build on its existing strengths while continuously striving to improve its services

Expanding horizons: A fresh management perspective

To broaden his strategic vision and leadership mindset, Dr Chung enrolled in the CUHK EMBA programme in 2009 — a rare move for a medical professional at the time. He openly acknowledges that management is a vast discipline; only through continuous learning across diverse fields can one navigate complex challenges with foresight. The programme challenged him to look beyond traditional clinical paradigms, equipping him to evaluate healthcare operations through a strategic, commercial lens. Among his most profound takeaways were the I Ching lectures led by Professor Min Kin-chok. “The leadership philosophy of the I Ching lies in understanding that opposing forces — Yin and Yang — are inherently unified,” Dr Chung reflects. “One must adapt smoothly with time, avoid extreme positions, and exercise patient restraint when conditions are not yet ripe.”

Today, he weaves this philosophy directly into hospital governance, balancing visionary idealism with pragmatic reality. Navigating the dual challenges of overcrowded public care and costly private treatment, CUHKMC has actively refined its fee structure and service delivery over the past year. This strategic realigning has yielded steady operational momentum, marked by breakthroughs in both community reputation and financial sustainability. Yet for Dr Chung, true fulfillment stems less from these metrics than from personal growth: “After decades in medicine, discovering this unexplored ‘other half’ of healthcare — and continually pushing my own boundaries — has been deeply rewarding.”

Pursuing his EMBA programme at CUHK Business School, Dr Chung (second from left) exchanges insights and perspectives with peers from diverse industries

CUHK Business School alumni are everywhere, transcending geographical and industrial boundaries. To explore more inspiring alumni stories, please click HERE.