Adrian Cheng

Adrian Cheng Chi-kong (Chinese: 鄭志剛, born 1979) is a Hong Kong businessman.[2][3][4] He is the CEO[5] and executive vice-chairman of the Hong Kong-listed New World Development,[6] executive director of jewellery company Chow Tai Fook, and founder of the K11 brand.[7][8][9] Cheng has been on the 40 under 40 list by Fortune, and in 2017, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[10]

Adrian Cheng
鄭志剛
Born1979 (age 41–42)
Hong Kong
Alma materHarvard University
OccupationBusinessman
Years active2000s-present
Known forFounder of K11 and K11 Art Foundation
TitleCEO, Executive Vice-Chairman of New World Development
Term2015-present
AwardsOfficier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres[1]
Honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree, SCAD
Honorary Fellowship, Lingnan University
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese鄭志剛
Simplified Chinese郑志刚

Early life and education

Cheng was born in 1979.[3] He is the oldest child of Henry Cheng,[11] and among his siblings are businesswoman Sonia Cheng[9] and Brian Cheng.[11] Cheng is the designated heir to his grandfather Cheng Yu-tung,[12][13] a multi-billionaire[14] known for founding New World Development and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises,[2][3][4] both Cheng family holdings.[13][15] Cheng majored in East Asian studies at Harvard University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Cheng's father had established the New World Harvard Kennedy School Fellows Programme in an agreement with Harvard in 1998.[16][17] Cheng later went to Japan to study Japanese culture for a year.[15]

Business career

UBS and Chow Tai Fook

Early in his career, Cheng was a banker at Goldman Sachs and UBS.[3] Following a two-year stint at UBS AG,[7][12] in 2006,[18] Cheng joined the family business,[15] the private Chow Tai Fook Holdings empire.[12] He became executive director of the listed[15] Chow Tai Fook[8] Jewelry Group.[7]

New World Development

In March 2007, Cheng became the executive director[18] and a board member at New World Development,[12][11] a Hong Kong-listed company[6] which is the biggest part of Chow Tai Fook Holdings.[12][11][19][20][21] In 2012, he became joint general manager of New World Development[22] and he also became executive vice-chairman in 2015.[23]

K11 brand

Cheng introduced the concept of "museum-retail"[22] by founding the K11 brand in 2008. Cheng's first K11 museum-retail mall opened in Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong Kong) in 2009, and later a branch was opened in Shanghai. K11 museum-retail shopping centers currently have branches in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan.[24][25]

K11 Art Foundation

He founded the K11 Art Foundation (KAF) in 2010, a vehicle for art promotion within the malls, serving as a platform for Chinese artists and their works.[26] He initiated collaborations between the foundation and international museums and art institutions such as Palais de Tokyo in Paris[27] and Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London,[28] showcasing Chinese artists. The foundation also has an art village in Wuhan.[22] Cheng has been included in the ArtReview Power100, ranking 100 in 2014,[29] 76 in 2015,[30][31] and 46 in 2017.[10]

Recent developments

In 2017, Cheng led the Victoria Dockside redevelopment on land held by New World since the 1970s, at a cost of $2.6 billion.[24][25][32] In June 2019, he was named the "first global ambassador" of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).[33] Cheng presided over the announcement of New World in September 2019 that it would be donating 3 million square feet of agricultural land to the government for public housing and related facilities, to NGOs and to charities to develop social or transitional housing. Up to a third of the land was to be donated to an affordable social housing project.[34]

In October 2019, he became executive director of NWS Holdings, New World Development's infrastructure arm.[35] On February 13, 2020, Cheng was named the executive chair of the New World subsidiary New World China Land, while keeping his role as executive vice-chairman at New World Development.[36] As of 2020, he runs two private Hong Kong investment ventures: C Ventures and K11 Investment.[37] Leaving his position as general manager, he was promoted to CEO of New World Development in May 2020.[5] In October 2020, Cheng oversaw NWD's acquisition of the State Theatre Building in Hong Kong for redevelopment.[38]

Boards and committees

He is on the boards of companies such as New World Development, Giordano International, Centennial Success, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Broad Park, and New Century Healthcare Holding Company, among others. He is chairman of the China Young Leaders Foundation.[18]

Current arts positions

Personal life

Cheng is married to Jennifer Yu.[43] He is known as a collector of contemporary art.[22]

Philanthropy

In January 2020, Cheng launched "Activating Change in a New World Order", a sustainability forum organized through Cheng's non-profit organizations Culture for Tomorrow and K11 Art Foundation.[44] In April 2020, during the Coronavirus disease pandemic, Cheng revealed announced plans to share millions of surgical face masks free of charge using 35 specially built vending machines placed around Hong Kong. He said: "It is heart-breaking to see so many people suffer because they simply cannot afford or get a hold of masks, which have become so costly and scarce."[45] Cheng also donated medical masks valued at US$2.1 million to China and 2.5 million medical face masks to South Korea, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.[46]

References
  1. "Mr. Adrian Cheng awarded insignia of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters". Consulate general of France in Hong Kong and Macau. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  2. General, Ryan (February 20, 2017). "Meet the Harvard Graduate Who's Heir to the World's Biggest Jewelry Empire". NextShark. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. Master, Farah (May 13, 2013). "Adrian Cheng: updating a Hong Kong family empire for a changing China". Reuters. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  4. "Adrian Cheng Launches C Ventures, an 'Investment Club' With Eye on Youth Culture". Business of Fashion. 11 October 2017.
  5. https://www.nwd.com.hk/corporate/about-NWD/leadership/dr-adrian-cheng-chi-kong
  6. "Corporate | New World Development Company Limited Official Website". www.nwd.com.hk. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. "About Us > Board of Directors | Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited". corporate.chowtaifook.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  8. "How New World heir Adrian Cheng combines his passion for art with entrepreneurship". 10 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  9. "5 Things To Know About Victoria Dockside". Asia Tatler. 26 April 2018.
  10. "Adrian Cheng Awarded Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres". Cobosocial. 15 December 2017.
  11. Davies, Paul J. (2013-10-08). "Adrian Cheng adds shine to Chow Tai Fook brand". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  12. "Adrian Cheng moves up after K11 artistry - The Standard". www.thestandard.com.hk. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  13. "Adrian Chi-Kong Cheng | #BoF500 | The Business of Fashion". Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  14. Hong Kong billionaire tycoon Cheng Yu-tung dies aged 91, Coconuts, 30 September 2016
  15. Contributor, Alex Frew McMillan|CNBC (25 October 2011). "Still in Control, Hong Kong Property Tycoons Face a Younger Generation". Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  16. "Honorary Degrees Congregation". University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  17. "New World Group and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs renewed the agreement for "New World Harvard Kennedy School Fellows Programme"". New World Development Co. Ltd. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  18. New World Development - Chi-Kong Cheng, Bloomberg
  19. "Brave new world as Cheng retires - The Standard". www.thestandard.com.hk. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  20. "Reflections of Siem - The Standard". www.thestandard.com.hk. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  21. "New World founder makes way for son at top of developer". Reuters. 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  22. Harris, Gareth (2014-10-24). "Arts interview: Adrian Cheng". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  23. "Home | New World Development Company Limited Official Website". www.nwd.com.hk. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  24. "New World's Victoria Dockside Breaks Record For Kowloon Office Rents". Mingtiandi.com. 8 January 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  25. "From swanky to retro-cool: 9 exciting attractions coming to Hong Kong". CNN. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  26. "The Foundation - K11 Art Foundation". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  27. "K11 Art Foundation's Chinese-French Connection at FIAC - artnet News". artnet News. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  28. "ICA and K11 Art Foundation present Zhang Ding: Enter the Dragon | Institute of Contemporary Arts". www.ica.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  29. "Adrian Cheng / Power 100 / Art Review". artreview.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  30. "Top 10 Young Art Collectors | Larry's List - Art Collector Interviews and Art Collector Email Addresses". www.larryslist.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  31. "Meet 20 of the World's Most Innovative Art Collectors". news.artnet.com. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  32. "Victoria Dockside". Skyscraper Center. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  33. van Elven, Marjorie (June 3, 2019), CFDA names Adrian Cheng as its first global ambassador, Fashion United, retrieved June 26, 2020
  34. "New World donates 3 million square feet of land". RTHK. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  35. Stella, Zhai (October 11, 2019), Adrian Cheng Takes over NWS, The Standard, retrieved June 26, 2020
  36. Hatton, James (February 13, 2020), New World Scion Adrian Cheng Named Chair of China Business, Mingtiandi, retrieved June 26, 2020
  37. Olsen, Robert (February 5, 2020), "How Adrian Cheng Is Rejuvenating A 50-Year-Old Business By Targeting China's Millennials", Forbes, retrieved June 25, 2020
  38. https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3104658/hong-kong-developer-nwd-says-it-will-create-shared-value-it-takes-control
  39. "articles/Curators in pursuit of the next big thing". Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  40. 周静. "Art impressario (sic) Cheng brings Monet exhibit to Shanghai - China.org.cn". China Internet Information Center. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  41. "MoMA PS1: Board of Directors". MoMA PS1. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  42. "Board & Staff". www.publicartfund.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  43. Joyce Chen, January 24, 2018, Cheng forays into kids' education, The Standard
  44. New World Development Sets Sustainability Vision 2030, New World Development Company Limited, January 23, 2020, retrieved June 26, 2020
  45. Picheta, Rob. "A billionaire art collector will distribute 10 million face masks in vending machines around Hong Kong". CNN. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  46. Block, Fang. "Hong Kong Billionaire Adrian Cheng Launches 'Mask to Go' Project in the Fight Against Covid-19". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
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