The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre has named CMS partner Mariel Dimsey as its new secretary-general and Eric Ng, who currently serves as managing counsel, as its new deputy secretary-general. The pair succeed Sarah Grimmer and Joe Liu, respectively.

Grimmer, who has had a six-year stint as secretary-general, will officially step down from her role in August, and join Twenty Essex in Singapore as a full-time arbitrator. During her time in the role, she was an integral part of the revised 2018 Administered Arbitration Rules, Hong Kong’s successful bid for the ICCA Congress 2024, and the institution’s pivot to virtual hearing services during the pandemic.

She also oversaw the launch of the HKIAC Case Digest, a database of HKIAC procedural decisions, and HKIAC Case Connect, an online case management system provided free of charge in HKIAC cases. In three of the last six years at the helm, HKIAC saw record numbers of arbitrations.

Meanwhile, Liu spent eight years at HKIAC, including five months as acting secretary-general. He leaves in June to set up his own practice, JLIU Dispute Resolution, as an independent arbitrator.

Dimsey, the incoming secretary-general, has more than 15 years of experience as advisor, advocate, expert, and arbitrator in international arbitration. She joined CMS in Hong Kong in 2018, and was named a partner in January 2019. Prior to that, she worked with Hogan Lovells and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.