Mr Yang has been Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since November 2015.

Mr Yang graduated in 1977 from the California Institute of Technology in the United States with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics. He pursued further studies at Stanford University and obtained a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1978 and a Master of Business Administration degree in 1982. Mr Yang worked as a senior design engineer for Intel Corporation in 1978 and later as a strategic management consultant for Bain & Company.

After returning to Hong Kong in 1983, he joined Shell Electric Mfg. (Holdings) Limited as its Executive Director and Deputy Group Managing Director until August 1999. He took up various posts in several technology, venture capital and private equity firms from 1999 to 2003. Mr Yang worked as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited from October 2003 to February 2010. He was Executive Vice President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from March 2010 to February 2015. He was appointed as Non-official Member of the Executive Council and Advisor to the Chief Executive on Innovation and Technology in March 2015.