Hong Kong billionaire Adrian Cheng, the CEO and executive vice-chairman of New World Development (NWD), has been named as co-chairman of China’s largest fashion and luxury media corporation Modern Media Group.
Cheng will work with Modern Media to extend the development of Chinese contemporary art and identify new growth opportunities for the business in China and globally.
Founded in 1993, Modern Media acquired London-based ArtReview and ArtPower100 List in 2019. The company also owns the creative and cultural platform Nowness, and the exclusive Chinese intellectual property of media brands, such as Art News, InStyle and Ideat. Modern Media’s portfolio also includes Modern Weekly, the Bloomberg Chinese app and Metaverse assets including the virtual platform Meta City in partnership with Baidu.
“Modern Media’s progressive thinking, compelling content and creative people have made the company a trailblazer in China’s print, digital and now metaverse space,” Cheng said. “We share the same vision.
“We must constantly seek the ideal relationship between culture, art and business. This will be vital for our future to ensure we authentically communicate, resonate and engage with all our audiences.”
The high-profile grandson of Hong Kong business legend Cheng Yu-tung – the founder of NWD and jeweller Chow Tai Fook – created the world’s first ‘cultural-retail’ concept K11 in 2008, with the first mall opening in Kowloon the following year.
Last year, K11 Group unveiled a harbourfront cultural retail destination in Shenzhen dubbed K11 Ecoast, a flagship for its Mainland China expansion plan. The US$1.4 billion project, located in Prince Bay, is scheduled to open at the end of next year.
“Adrian is a retail visionary and business leader who constantly reimagines how commerce, community, art and innovation can intersect and positively impact societies,” said Thomas Shao, founder, chairman and CEO of Modern Media Group.
“He is redefining what Chinese culture means both domestically and internationally.”
Cheng was named chairman of the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Committee by the Hong Kong Government earlier this year to strengthen the city’s role as a cultural exchange hub.
Last year, Cheng made the top 10 Asia’s most influential list at Inside Retail Asia, a collection of the region’s changemakers, rulebreakers and innovators.
