CCAA To Honor Lung with Alexander Hamilton Medal

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Conrad H. Lung '72 will be honored on Thursday, November 19, at a black-tie dinner at which he will be presented with this year's Alexander Hamilton Medal. The medal, given at the Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner in Low Rotunda, is the highest honor paid to a member of the Columbia College community. It is awarded annually by the Columbia College Alumni Association to an alumnus/a or faculty member for distinguished service to the College and accomplishment in any field of endeavor.

Lung was born in Canton, China, and attended schools in Hong Kong before matriculating at the College, where he majored in Oriental studies. He then earned a master's and an M.Phil. at Yale, where he taught briefly and was a tutor. In 1977, Lung was hired by a Hong Kong apparel manufacturer to start a marketing operation in New York, Wrightfox International, which was acquired by Jordache Jeans in 1979. He moved to Maurice Sassoon Jeans as v.p. of operations and in 1981 was hired by New York Jean Co. as e.v.p. in charge of merchandising and marketing.

Lung co-founded Sunnex, Inc., a manufacturer and wholesaler of women's career clothing that develops and markets five brands in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and China, in 1985. The next year, he co-founded Sun On-Sunnex International Holding Corp. in Hong Kong as a buying office for Sunnex. In 1987, Lung co-founded China Silk Enterprise Ltd., which operates manufacturing facilities in the People's Republic of China. In 1992, Lung co-founded Sun On Trust, a not-for-profit organization that performs charitable work in China.

In 2003, Lung sold Sunnex and its related companies to various Asia investors, and in 2004 he participated, with a group of Asia investors and two College alumni, in a leveraged buy-out of Mudd Jeans in New York. Lung then became its president. In the same year, he co-founded, with a group of College alumni, a consulting and boutique investment banking firm, Ivy Capital Management LLC, as well as a brand management and marketing firm, Collegiate Brand Management Group, both based in New York.

Lung has been extensively involved with the College and alumni affairs. He helped found the Asia Columbia Alumni Association and was the group's first president, and, along with other alumni, assisted in the founding of the Columbia Club in Singapore and improved the link between Columbia and various Columbia Clubs in Asia. Lung serves the College as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and as an emeritus member of the Board of Visitors. The College honored him for his distinguished professional achievements with a 2002 John Jay Award.

Lung is married to Yin Yee Lung '74 Barnard, and they have three children: Jennifer '01E, '08 P&S; Stephanie '04 and Jonathan '05E.

For more information on the dinner, contact Meghan Eschmann, associate director, alumni affairs: 212-851-7399 or me2363@columbia.edu.

 

Posted in: