Adrian Cheng

Cheng was born in 1979.[2] He is the oldest child of Henry Cheng and the grandson of Cheng Yu-tung.[9][10][11] Cheng majored in East Asian studies at Harvard University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Cheng later went to Japan to study Japanese culture for a year.[12]

Early in his career, Cheng was a banker at Goldman Sachs and UBS.[2] In 2002, Cheng left UBS AG Cheng to join his family's business Chow Tai Fook Holdings.[6][10] In 2002, he became executive director of the listed Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group.[6][12][7]

In March 2007, Cheng became executive director and a board member at New World Development,[13][10][9] a Hong Kong-listed company.[10][9][14][15][16] In 2012, he became joint general manager of New World Development[17] and he also became executive vice-chairman in 2015.[18]

In 2008, Cheng founded K11, a concept focused on "museum-retail".[17] Cheng's first K11 museum-retail mall opened in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong in 2009. It later opened a branch in Shanghai. Since then, other branches have been opened in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan.[19][20] He founded the K11 Art Foundation (KAF) in 2010, which focuses on promoting and supporting Chinese artists and their works.[21] He initiated collaborations between internationally recognised museums and art institutions such as Palais de Tokyo in Paris,[22] and Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London,[23] showcasing Chinese artists. The foundation also has an art village in Wuhan.[17] Cheng's work with K11 led him to be included in the ArtReview Power100 list several times since 2014, most recently in 2021.[24][25][26][27]

In 2017, Cheng led the Victoria Dockside redevelopment of land held by New World since the 1970s, at a cost of $2.6 billion.[19][20][28] He also launched C Ventures, an investment fund investing in fashion, media and lifestyle start-ups.[29][30] In June 2019, he was named the "first global ambassador" of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).[31] In September 2019, Cheng presided over the announcement that New World would donate 3 million square feet of agricultural land to the government for public housing and related facilities, 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.[32]

In October 2019, he became executive director of NWS Holdings, New World Development's infrastructure arm.[33] 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 of New World Development.[34] As of 2020, he runs two private Hong Kong investment ventures: C Ventures and K11 Investment.[35] 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.[36] In September 2021, Cheng announced the establishment of a new non-profit organisation, New World Build for Good.[37] It aims to alleviate the housing shortage in Hong Kong.[38] In November 2021, Cheng announced that he would build virtual land in The Sandbox’s metaverse.[39]

He is on the boards of companies such as New World Development, Giordano International, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, and New Century Healthcare Holding Company, among others. He is chairman of the China Young Leaders Foundation.[13]

Cheng holds a number of art-focused board positions including, Trustee of Royal Academy of Arts,[40] Visiting Committee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art,[40] Member of TATE’s Asia Pacific Acquisitions Committee,[40] Member of International Circle of Centre Pompidou,[40] and Board of directors for MoMA PS1.[41]

Cheng is married to Jennifer Yu.[42][43] He is known as a collector of contemporary art.[17]

Cheng has two younger siblings, Sonia Cheng and Brian Cheng.[8][9]

• New World Development Company : Dr. Adrian Cheng