Dr. Adrian CHENG, SBS, JP
Chief Executive Officer, New World Development Company Limited
Executive Director, NWS Holdings Limited
Executive Director, Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group Limited
Vice Chairman and Group CEO, CTF Education Group
Founder & Chairman, K11 Concepts Limited
Dr Adrian Cheng is the CEO of New World Development Company Limited, overseeing the group’s strategy and ecosystem of property development, infrastructure, retail, health and wellness, insurance, education, and hospitality projects.
In 2008, Dr Cheng created the “K11” brand, an ecosystem intertwining art, culture, commerce and society that incubates creativity and innovation, nurtures arts talents, and facilitates the interconnectedness of young designers and cultural entrepreneurs in a commercial environment. He also founded the non-profit K11 Art Foundation and the K11 Craft & Guild Foundation, the former aiming at incubating up-and-coming artists and creators, and the latter for conserving and preserving Chinese traditional craftsmanship. In 2020, Dr Cheng announced that New World Development would take on the conservation of the State Theatre. This Grade 1-listed historic building, with some 70 years of history and cultural significance, was a hub for East-meets-West cultural exchange. Working with a local and international team of experts, his goal is to revitalise the much-loved building, which has sadly fallen into disrepair, preserve its heritage and restore it to its original glory and glamour.
In recent years, Dr Cheng has been transforming New World Development into the first listed company in Hong Kong to incorporate Creating Shared Value (CSV) into its core strategy. This strategy asserts that the commercial has an obligation to take care of other stakeholders in the community for the mutual benefit of corporations and society. He founded “New World Build for Good”, a not-for-profit social housing enterprise aiming at exploring innovative social housing models for Hong Kong citizens across the economic spectrum. It is piloting the building of Hong Kong's first not-for-profit privately subsidised housing project, providing high quality and affordable flats to young families. He also founded Hong Kong’s first large-scale crowd-donation platform “Share for Good”, matching donors with the urgent needs of local communities online and facilitating efficient delivery of supplies to all those in need.
Dr. Cheng holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (cum laude) from Harvard University, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities by the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2014. He was conferred an Honorary Fellowship by Lingnan University in 2014, and an Honorary University Fellowship by the University of Hong Kong in 2022. He is a Justice of Peace appointed by the HKSAR Government since 2016, and was awarded Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) in 2022 in recognition of his remarkable contributions to the development and promotion of arts and sports, and well-being of the underprivileged in Hong Kong. Internationally, he was made an “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Government in 2017, and an “Officier de l'Ordre National du Mérite” in 2022 in recognition of his role in the advancement of cultural exchange between France and China. His dedication to society has won him the Shared Value Champion in 2020, the first CEO in Asia to claim this title.
Dr Cheng currently serves as a member of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of The People’s Republic of China, the Chairman of New World Group Charity Foundation, the Chairman of China Young Leaders Foundation, a President of Hong Kong United Youth Association, and a Vice President and Executive Committee Member of The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong. He was a Vice-chairman of the 11th and 12th Committee of All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), among others.