Professor Chen is currently Chairman of HKU SPACE (School of Professional and Continuing Education), Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong, Honorary Professor of the Open University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong, Chairman of the Council of Advisers of the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research, and independent non-executive director of First Pacific Company, Delta Asia Financial Group, Hang Seng Qianhai Asset Management, and Wharf Holdings. He is a member of the Hong Kong government Human Resources Planning commission, director of the Hong Kong Institute of Monetary Research, and the Chinese Institute of Hong Kong.

He is the former President of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (1995–2007) introducing liberal arts education, and former Chairman of the Consumer Council promoting competition policy in Hong Kong. He also served as a member of the Securities and Futures Commission, a trustee of Lloyd George Asset Management, director of Asia Satellite Telecommunications, Peoples Telephone Company, and Mass Transit Railway Corporation. He is also a former Member of the Executive Council (1992-1997) and the Legislative Council (1991-1992) of Hong Kong. He was Visiting Professor of the University of California Davis at various times and served as President of the Qianhai Institute for Innovative Research in Shenzhen (2014-2017).

Professor Chen was educated at the University of Hong Kong (BA & MSocSc) and Oxford University (DPhil). He taught economics and served as Director of the Centre of Asian Studies at the University of Hong Kong. He is a pioneer in the study of Asia’s newly industrialized economies, and has particular research interest in regional cooperation and the economics of technological change. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Hong Kong, the Open University of Hong Kong, the Education University of Hong Kong, and Plymouth University in England. He is a Justice of the Peace, and was awarded CBE by the British Hong Kong government and GBS by the Hong Kong SAR government.

陳坤耀教授現時為香港大學專業進修學院董事局主席、香港大學校務委員會成員，香港大學香港人文社會研究所院士、香港公開大學及香港大學名譽教授、香港金融管理局香港金融研究中心顧問委員會主席。2014年7月至2017年八月擔任深圳市前海創新研究院院長，亦為前嶺南大學校長 (1995年至2007年)，提倡博雅教育。歷仼美國加州大學戴維斯分校客座教授。

陳教授為香港大學文學士、社會科學碩士及英國牛津大學經濟學哲學博士。此外，他亦是香港大學榮譽社會科學博士、香港公開大學榮譽文學博士、香港教育大學榮譽教育學博士、及英國 Plymouth 大學榮譽教育學博士。陳教授為太平紳士及獲頒金紫荊星章。

陳教授早年任教香港大學經濟系，在1979年至1995年任香港大學亞洲研究中心主任。他的研究課題包括亞洲經濟發展模式、技術革新、及直接海外投資，是研究新興工業經濟體系的先驅。陳教授在公共和商業領域皆有豐富的經驗。他於1991年至1992年出任香港立法局議員，1992年至1997年出任香港行政局成員；1991年至1997年出任消費者委員會主席，推動競爭政策。他亦曾任獸醫管理局主席、香港報業評議會主席、及香港太平洋經濟合作委員會主席。現任香港政府人力資源發展委員會委員，香港金融研究中心董事，香港中國學術研究院理事。他曾任多家企業之董事，包括港鐵、亞洲衛星控股有限公司，萬眾電話公司。現任第一太平有限公司、九龍倉集團、恒生前海基金管理公司、及滙業財經集團獨立董事。