Xiajao Li (Charles) has been CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited since January 16, 2010. He is also a board director of the London Metal Exchange and LME Holdings. Li was the former chairman of JPMorgan China and prior to that was managing director and president of Merrill Lynch in China from 1999 to 2003 where he managed a wide range of investment banking businesses. He also worked as an associate at two major international law firms, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Brown & Wood based in New York. In the mid-1980s, Li was an editor and reporter for China Daily. He was born in Beijing and brought up in Gansu province. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Xiamen University, a Master of Arts in Journalism from University of Alabama & Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University in the US.
