Resigning from all positions, Adrian Cheng completely withdraws from the management of the family business.
The Zheng family, which emerged in the 1920s, has spanned over a century. It owns two core industries, New World Group and Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, with business covering multiple fields such as real estate, hotels, and jewelry. According to the Forbes 2025 Hong Kong Rich List, the Zheng family of Chow Tai Fook ranks third on the list with a net worth of $19.5 billion (approximately 140 billion yuan).
As the eldest grandson of Cheng Yu-tung, the founder of New World Group, Adrian Cheng has long been regarded by the outside world as the third-generation successor of the Zheng family. At the age of 45, he recently resigned from all positions such as non-executive director of New World. The official reason was "to devote more time to public service and other personal affairs." In fact, since stepping down as the CEO of New World and an executive director of Chow Tai Fook in September last year, Adrian Cheng has gradually faded out of the core of the family business.
Notably, while withdrawing from family affairs, Adrian Cheng announced his entry into the short drama industry and continued to promote the development of the family office industry in Hong Kong as the chairman of the board of the Hong Kong Wealth Legacy Institute.
Complete Withdrawal from Family Business Management
On September 4, according to media reports, citing information from the Companies Registry, Adrian Cheng, the former vice-chairman of New World Development, resigned as a director of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a privately held company under the family, on June 30. Previously, he stepped down as a director of K11 Group and K11 Concepts in November last year, and his wife, Ada Cheng, also withdrew from Chow Tai Fook Education. So far, Adrian Cheng and his wife have completely withdrawn from all positions in companies under the Zheng family.
Born into the Zheng family, one of the "Four Great Families in Hong Kong," Adrian Cheng is the eldest grandson of Cheng Yu-tung, the founder of New World Group. Over the years, Adrian Cheng has been regarded by the outside world as the third-generation "successor" of the Zheng family.
After Cheng Yu-tung's passing in 2016, the family's management power was transferred to his eldest son, Henry Cheng. However, the following year, Henry Cheng suffered a sudden stroke and had to step back from the front line. Adrian Cheng, the eldest grandson of the third generation, took over the responsibility and became the second-in-command after Henry Cheng.
In March 2007, at the age of 28, Adrian Cheng was appointed an executive director of New World Development and has served as an executive director and co-general manager since March 2012. After joining New World, Adrian Cheng held important positions in many listed companies under the New World system, mainly in charge of businesses such as real estate, department stores, and jewelry. He served as an executive director of New World China Land, New World Department Store China, Chow Tai Fook, and International Entertainment, as well as a non-executive director of Giordano and Modern Media.
One of Adrian Cheng's most important achievements during his tenure at New World was the establishment of K11. In 2008, Adrian Cheng founded the K11 brand in Hong Kong, which focuses on integrating international art and cultural connotations into business development, opening up a new format of art and business integration. Subsequently, Adrian Cheng replicated the K11 series in the Chinese mainland and expanded rapidly. Currently, the K11 Art Mall projects have expanded to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Tianjin, Wuhan, and other cities.
However, in September 2024, New World Development announced in a statement that Adrian Cheng had resigned as the company's CEO, and Ma Shaoxiang, the chief operating officer, would take over. Adrian Cheng was transferred from an executive director and executive vice-chairman to a non-executive director and non-executive vice-chairman, and no longer served as a member of the executive committee or the chairman and member of the sustainable development committee.
In addition, Adrian Cheng also resigned from multiple positions such as the chairman and non-executive director of New World Department Store, an executive director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, and a non-executive director of NWS Holdings.
Regarding the reason for leaving New World and his future plans, Adrian Cheng said at the time that in recent years, he had participated in many public services related to culture and art. After careful consideration, he submitted his resignation to the group. In the future, he would devote more time to public service and other personal affairs.
The outside world speculates that the real reason for Adrian Cheng's departure from New World may be related to the significant decline in business performance. Shortly after New World Development officially announced Adrian Cheng's resignation as CEO, it held a press conference on its 2024 financial results. In the 2024 fiscal year, New World Development reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of approximately HK$19.683 billion, which was also the company's first loss in nearly 20 fiscal years. The outside world generally attributes New World's high debt to Adrian Cheng's aggressive strategies and decision-making mistakes, and his departure seems to imply taking the blame and resigning.
This change has sparked widespread attention in the market regarding Adrian Cheng's future development direction. Despite leaving the family business, Adrian Cheng has been committed to exploring new fields and seeking investment and cooperation opportunities.
In the investment field, as early as 2017, Adrian Cheng co-founded C Ventures with senior investors Wu Changning and Zheng Yanbin, investing in many leading companies in various industries, including Casetify, XPeng Motors, and NIO.
In February this year, Adrian Cheng joined hands with JAKOTA Capital to enter the global short drama industry. To promote the development of the short drama business, JAKOTA Capital has committed to investing $100 million to support short drama companies and related projects, including investments in listed companies and pre-listed companies engaged in the global short drama business.
It is reported that JAKOTA Capital is a Swiss investment company that mainly focuses on strategic investment and consulting services in regions such as Japan and South Korea. The company recently also launched an investment strategy for the global short drama market, which will be managed through a short drama company entity headquartered in New York and is planned to start operations in March 2025. Adrian Cheng will provide strategic guidance for the short drama company.
This entry into the short drama field is also Adrian Cheng's first investment move in the cultural and entertainment field after officially leaving New World Group.
The Succession Turmoil of the Zheng Family
At the end of 2023, Henry Cheng, the second-generation leader of the Zheng family, rarely gave an exclusive interview, emphasizing that he was still "observing" the successor candidates, and the condition for passing on the baton was "both talent and virtue," stating that it was not easy to find such a person. Since then, the market has been speculating that there may be changes in the family's "heir," and there have been multiple personnel changes in the family business.
In response, Adrian Cheng's younger brother, Benjamin Cheng, the co-CEO of NWS Holdings, another listed company under the Zheng family, said that his father, Henry Cheng, was absolutely fair and judged things rather than people. "If I don't perform well, I can also be replaced," he said, adding that currently, the companies under the family are all independently listed, and the division of labor among family members is clear.
In recent years, Henry Cheng has been working on the "top-level design" of the family business, constantly looking for suitable candidates to take key positions in the company:
Henry Cheng's eldest daughter, Daphne Cheng, is the vice-chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, responsible for the group's jewelry business. In addition, Daphne Cheng serves as the CEO of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. Notably, after Henry Cheng stepped down as the chairman of the nomination committee of New World Development Group on May 1, Daphne Cheng took over this important position.
As the "nerve center" of corporate management, the nomination committee of New World shoulders important responsibilities such as board structure design, senior management appointment and removal, and succession planning. This appointment marks Daphne Cheng's official entry into the core power circle of the Zheng family from her professional fields in Chow Tai Fook Jewellery and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.
It is reported that currently, the nomination committee of New World Development consists of Lee Lin-wai (the current executive director and vice-chairman of many listed companies such as Lippo Limited, an honorary fellow of City University of Hong Kong, and a Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong), international financial expert Yip Yuk-keung, and Daphne Cheng, forming a three-person decision-making team of "family member + professional manager + professional," breaking the traditional "one-man rule" in family businesses.
Looking back at Daphne Cheng's career, after graduating from Harvard University with a major in applied mathematics and economics, she worked at Morgan Stanley and Warburg Pincus for five years, specializing in real estate investment. Daphne Cheng also served as an independent director of a New York Stock Exchange-listed company until the end of 2022.
In 2008, Daphne Cheng returned from the United States and joined New World Hotels Group. Soon after, she showed her unique vision and investment ability. In 2011, Daphne Cheng defied the odds and acquired the loss-making Rosewood Hotels & Resorts for $800 million, successfully turning it around. Three years later, its performance soared by 200%, and the brand was expanded to cities such as Beijing and Hong Kong, becoming a benchmark for top luxury hotels in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition, after joining Chow Tai Fook, Daphne Cheng promoted the brand's youth-oriented transformation, helping Chow Tai Fook maintain its competitiveness among the Generation Z consumer group.
· The eldest son, Adrian Cheng, has stepped down from all positions in the Zheng family's companies.
· The second son, Benjamin Cheng, joined NWS Holdings nearly 16 years ago and became the co-CEO in 2024, officially becoming the core helmsman of NWS Holdings.
Benjamin Cheng revealed that taking over NWS Holdings was not a pre-arranged plan and was not something that happened overnight. Instead, he gradually gained experience in the family, and he had been with the group for about 16 years, interested in businesses such as infrastructure, roads, and logistics.
· The youngest son, Jason Cheng, holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University. He has worked in the venture capital and hedge fund industries for many years and has rich experience in global equity portfolio management, focusing on the Asian market.
Jason Cheng joined NWS Holdings in early 2019 and was later appointed an executive director, responsible for overseeing business development and strategic investments. In March 2023, Jason Cheng became a director of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, officially taking on a role in the family's investment flagship. Currently, after only one year, he has been promoted to co-CEO of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.
When talking about the family's successor, Henry Cheng said that the successor should first be interested in business and have a passion for the family business. At the same time, they should also be selfless and have both talent and virtue. Henry Cheng admitted that it was not easy to find a perfect successor. If there was no suitable family member, he would also consider recruiting externally and let the shareholders' meeting decide on the appointment and removal.
He put forward the idea of leaving the decision to the shareholders' meeting: "Family inheritance does not necessarily require a successor. I have an idea that our company's business scope is relatively wide, covering various industries. In fact, it requires many talents for management. Therefore, family members can be responsible for 'individual business areas.' If there is no suitable family member, we can recruit externally, and the shareholders' meeting will decide on their retention."
* Henry Cheng, the second-generation leader of the Zheng family
Henry Cheng emphasized that family inheritance is not limited to business but also concerns culture and values. "Some people say that wealth does not last beyond three generations. The reason is simple. Some successors have poor moral character and only take care of the interests of their own family. If there is no successor and the decision is made by the shareholders' meeting, there will be no such trouble. Because the family shareholders will not change, and the number of shareholders and their shareholding ratios remain the same. This can avoid the impact on the next generation due to the poor moral character of the successor."
Establishment of a Family Office
It is worth mentioning that as an established family in Hong Kong, the Zheng family has also established a family office.
In September 2024, the Zheng family stated that to lead and supervise a diversified global investment portfolio, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the family's private investment flagship, announced that it had established a CEO (referred to as the chief executive officer in Hong Kong) office, dividing the CEO position into three and setting up three co-CEOs, including the youngest son, Jason Cheng, who has rarely been in the spotlight.
According to a statement on August 30, 2024, in the CEO office, Jason Cheng, the youngest son of Henry Cheng, will be responsible for North Asian investments of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. Tsang On-yip, the grandson-in-law of Cheng Yu-tung, will be in charge of investments in the Americas, Australia, and Europe, and Ho Chi-hang, the co-CEO of NWS Holdings, will be responsible for corporate functions and operations.
The Zheng family has established a family trust under an offshore structure. Through two offshore trust companies, Cheng Yu Tung Family (Holdings) Limited and Cheng Yu Tung Family (Holdings II) Limited, they jointly hold the core asset carrier, "Chow Tai Fook Holdings," holding approximately 95.65% of the equity in Chow Tai Fook Holdings in total, and indirectly controlling Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and its control over New World Development.
The family trust and the family office play crucial roles in the inheritance process of the Zheng family. Through the family trust, the family's wealth can be properly inherited, while the family office is responsible for daily operations and decision-making.
This arrangement not only gives the enterprise the freedom to flexibly choose professional managers between family members and outsiders but also gives family members the freedom to choose careers and start businesses inside and outside the family enterprise, taking into account the long-term development of the enterprise and the self-realization of family members.
Despite leaving the power center of the family, Adrian Cheng, as one of the representatives of the third generation of the "old-money" families in Hong Kong, serves as the chairman of the board of the Hong Kong Wealth Legacy Institute, committed to promoting the development of the family office industry in Hong Kong.
On March 24, 2023, the Hong Kong government issued a "Policy Declaration on Developing Family Office Business in Hong Kong" to attract global family offices. Against this background, the Hong Kong Wealth Legacy Institute was established. In January this year, the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council reappointed Dr. Adrian