Adrian Cheng

Adrian Cheng, Executive Vice-Chairman of New World Development, Executive Director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group and Founder of K11, is one of Hong Kong’s most forward-thinking entrepreneurs and an industry change-maker. He is dedicated to embedding art, culture and sustainability in his business, supporting art development, and empowering the local community through programs for underresourced children and youth.

Committed to community development, he launched “New World Springboard” in 2012 to empower under-resourced youth through a sports and mentorship program, which has since benefited over 1,000 youth in Hong Kong. He also supports health and education initiatives for underprivileged children throughout Asia, including a shelter in Cambodia for orphans affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2010, he founded the non-profit charity K11 Art Foundation, which provides continuous support to emerging Chinese artists and curators through residency programs and cross-cultural exhibitions in China and beyond. Driven by his belief that “art is part of everyone’s daily life,” K11 Art Foundation has since embarked upon international collaborations to bring art and cultural education to a wider audience.

For New World Development, Adrian is building an ecosystem that provides both infrastructure and services to serve the local community. He pioneered The Artisanal Movement, which weaves artisanship, craft and heritage into its property developments. He expanded the Group’s focus to education and healthcare, including Humansa, which utilizes breakthrough technology to offer wellness services to the elderly community. By establishing K11 in 2008, he intertwines art into commercial ventures to curate to the tastes of Chinese Millennial and Generation Z consumers. K11 is now a network of branded cultural-retail spaces, offices, luxury residences, cultural education platforms and the not-for-profit K11 Art Foundation. He spearheads some of New World’s most ambitious projects to date including the US$2.6 billion development of Victoria Dockside on the Hong Kong harborfront, which includes the flagship K11 ATELIER (office building), K11 ARTUS (luxury residences), K11 MUSEA (cultural-retail) and Rosewood Hong Kong, the venue for this year’s amfAR Gala.

He has been included in Fortune magazine’s prestigious “40 under 40” list, and has been named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum and an Officier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government, the youngest person in Hong Kong to receive such an honor.