HONORARY CHAIRMAN
Gavin Menzies14th August 1937- 12th April 2020
Gavin Menzies joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and served in submarines from 1959 to 1970. As a junior officer he sailed the world in the wake of Columbus, Dias, Cabral and Vasco da Gama. When in command of H.M.S. Rorqual (1968 - 70), he sailed the routes pioneered by Magellan and Captain Cook. Since leaving the Royal Navy, he has returned to China and the Far East many times, and in the course of researching 1421 he has visited 120 countries, over 900 museums and libraries and every major seaport of the late Middle Ages. Gavin’s work was the inspiration behind the creation of the 1421 Foundation and we look forward to building on the solid foundations of his pioneering endeavours in the future. |
FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Frank LeeFrank Lee is chairman of DMZ Technology Limited, a technology consulting company which engages in development of new innovation and startups. He has invested in technology startups, social media ventures, venture funds and Intellectual Property.
Frank was born, raised and educated in Hong Kong, schooled in the Technical College, now called Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in Accounting and Business Administration. Frank is based in Hong Kong and has been involved with all things ‘1421’ since 2003. He has stimulated the growth of the movement overseas, and is engaged in promoting the multi-media aspects of the 1421 Foundation, not least movies and music. |
FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Peter ClassenPeter Classen is a chief operating executive and chief strategist with an uncommon expertise in building new revenue streams, energizing teams and affecting positive growth. His 25-year career has seen him serving in both chief operating roles and chief advisory roles in private, public and non-profit settings. By leveraging the uncommon perspectives of both chief strategist and chief implementer, Peter has delivered “game-changing” results in areas of top-line revenue, revenue diversification, profitability, strategic direction, operating efficiency, and management capacity on more than two-dozen occasions. Peter’s core competencies are planning, organizing and leading the drive for growth. He is an expert in formulating strategies, developing innovative revenue streams, and heading breakout expansions, often in difficult settings where capital is constrained and uncertainty/inertia abound.
Outside of his private sector work as the head of an international management services firm, Mr. Classen commits time to a variety of non-profit efforts, especially where education features prominently. Most notably, from 2000 to 2005 he served on the Board of one of the UK’s largest private foundations. |
PRESIDENT
Ian HudsonIan Hudson is a scholar and best-selling author who has focused on ancient sea-faring civilisations and global maritime exploration. He has worked with Gavin Menzies since 2002, on book projects as well as a '1421' exhibition in Singapore, and a TV documentary series, before co-authoring Who Discovered America - The Untold History of the Peopling of the Americas with Menzies in 2013.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was an Associate Member of the China Maritime Centre at the Greenwich Maritime Institute, London, a "Next Generation Ambassador" for the Committee of 100 ( www.committee100.org ) and has lectured on his research at prestigious institutions in the UK such the University of Oxford, & the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, at Yunnan University, China, and at Duke University, USA. |