Pansy Ho

amfAR Award of Courage recipient, Pansy Ho, is a distinguished business figure and a leading patron of the arts. Ms. Ho champions humanitarian causes and advocates empowering women and youth to gain socioeconomic independence through education and training. She serves as Board Member of the United Nations Peace & Development Foundation; Vice Chairperson and Honorary President of the Hong Kong Federation of Women; and Vice President of the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association. In 2013, Ms. Ho became the first Ambassador of Pacific Asia Travel Association Foundation, supporting its sustainable tourism projects in remote villages in China, Cambodia and Vietnam. She also serves as Court Member of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Founding Honorary Advisor and Board Director of the University of Hong Kong Foundation for Education Development & Research Limited; and Trustee Board Member of The Better Hong Kong Foundation. In 2015, she was awarded an Honorary University Fellowship by the University of Hong Kong.

Ms. Ho has a keen interest in creating opportunities for artistic expression and cultural exchange. She has held board positions at The Hong Kong Ballet, The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Arts Centre, and she serves on the International Advisory Board of Sotheby’s and as the Society of the Academy for Performing Arts’ joint Vice-President. In 2013, Ms. Ho became the first Ambassador for the Louvre in China. In 2014, she received an Honorary Fellowship from the Academy for Performing Arts, and in 2015, she was named “Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia” (Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy) by the government of Italy for her contribution to Italy’s artistic and cultural presence in Hong Kong and Macau.

Ms. Ho is the managing director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited, a business conglomerate in the Pearl River Delta; and a co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings Limited, an entertainment resort. She was named one of the “Fortune 50 Most Powerful Women in Business” for six consecutive years, and in 2013 was the first woman selected as “Business Person of the Year” by the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards.