Prestige Woman of Power and founder of a marketing agency EX-R Consulting, Colleen Yu is the inspiration you need to take the next step towards your dream job.

After years working at KPMG and Goldman Sachs, Colleen Yu discovered her passion and talent for creating bespoke luxury experiences. Trusting her gut and enlisting the support of her family and friends, she launched EX-R Consulting. The road ahead proved to be full of hurdles, when, after the three long years of Covid, she decided to reposition her business to satisfy ever-evolving market demands and stop herself from burning out.

While planning my wedding, I not only discovered my love for event production, but that I was also pretty good at it. I was supposed to go back to work at Goldman, but my husband suggested I take this opportunity to do something more flexible so I could travel with him. My first client was from Goldman Sachs; he’d come to my wedding and asked me to help him with his marketing department.

When I started EX-R Consulting, I had no network and no vendors. I remember doing focus groups and writing strategy documents – it’s something I was trained to do at my previous jobs. My banking background provided a different perspective when consulting clients, and my interest in luxury and hospitality showed me the value of bespoke experiences. I had a few hotel clients, and then I started doing weddings and conferences.

Before COVID, I was deeply involved in the execution of every project. I was the staff, security, MC, scriptwriter, voice-over artist – everything. This gave me insight into operations, time and money management, and profitability. Some clients suggest I should charge more because I was so involved in the process. Having said that, I’ve been blessed with amazing clients who always refer us and not gatekeep. Thanks to them I could focus on creating value. But then, during Covid we were highly challenged, and I started thinking about how to sustain the business and I found myself burnt out, trying to create value without thinking of what was in it for me.

I’m all about client servicing. I always joke that I’m very good at money management when the money isn’t my own – and good at marketing everyone’s brands but not my own. In my head, I always try to create value for whoever believes in me, and I think being objective and strategy-driven is crucial – everyone should look at the same campaign and see how they can benefit from it.

Everyone in life should have three careers and eight jobs. You shouldn’t be afraid to test yourself – whatever you do, you learn something. With such a mindset, you won’t be thinking you’re wasting your time. I can say that I didn’t work at an agency those 10 years, when somebody else did, yet I still started EX-R Consulting. This gave me a different background, mindset, approach and working style.

Entrepreneurship is something you need to love – it’s a never-ending learning curve. You must be willing to grow and learn there’s no such thing as a work-life balance. I find fun and inspiration in my work – it gives me a lot of space to connect with people, teach lessons to my kids and provide indulgent experiences for my family and friends. I even like my challenges, which I take as a learning opportunity. I tackle them and persevere.

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Prestige Woman of Power, CEO of financial consultancy Stratford Finance and board chair of The Women’s Foundation Angelina Kwan believes plenty of work is still to be done to achieve gender equality in the workplace. It comes down to three action points: new diversity targets, support for the underprivileged and increased visibility.

In 2011 I was asked to be a keynote speaker by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong for its Women’s Leadership Forum. On that stage, I found my “voice” to be an advocate for women in leadership roles and to inspire them to achieve the highest levels. From there, I was invited to join the board of The Women’s Foundation (TWF) and serve on the Women’s Commission of Hong Kong. This has opened my eyes to the real impact that can be made through the right types of advocates and encouraging men and women to stand up and be a “voice” for diversity and inclusion – having men highlight inequalities through “He for She” and getting women to be “She for She”.

Our mission at the Women’s Foundation is to improve the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong through ground-breaking research, community programmes and advocacy in the pursuit of three goals: challenging gender
stereotypes, empowering women in poverty and increasing the number of women in decision-making roles. Gender inequality is still rife in this city – sexual violence affects one in three women. Stereotypes hold women back at work and negatively affect performance reviews, salary negotiations, networking and board appointments. Women are also more likely to face a lack of visibility and be expected to disproportionately take on non- promotable tasks. For women from marginalised communities, these issues are often exacerbated.

Some barriers, which often appear early, discourage girls from developing an interest in STEM. According to our research, girls are three times less likely than boys to pursue a STEM degree at university and four times less likely to pursue STEM-related careers. Gender biases, lack of support and not understanding the impact of STEM are all at play here. TWF runs a Girls Go Tech (GGT) Programme, which encourages underprivileged secondary school girls to pursue STEM to maximise their career options. Participants learn hard skills via our online platform, and we offer a diverse range of company visits and shadowing opportunities to show how STEM is used to solve real problems.

Women currently account for 19.1 percent of Hang Seng Index board members. Although key HKEX reforms will eliminate single-gender boards for all listed companies by the end of next year, Hong Kong lags far behind other leading financial centres. The UK and US, for instance, have 40.5 percent and 32.6 percent female representation respectively. Women currently hold 38.1 percent of board positions in Australia, 29.7 percent in Malaysia and 21.5 percent in Singapore. A concrete next step is for companies to set targets of at least 30 percent by 2027. TWF has active advocates for more diverse boards. We serve as the secretariat for the 30% Club Hong Kong, the local chapter of the global campaign for board gender diversity

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Prestige Woman of Power Esther Ma, who combines running her sports-management and education company Harvest Sky with committee work for the Athletes Career and Education Programme, says there’s still work to be done when it comes to nurturing young athletes in Hong Kong.

I was always an avid athlete and admire the discipline and resilience of all the athletes around me. I was approached by two Olympic swimmers – my fellow University of California, Berkley alumnus Camille Cheng, and family friend Geoff Cheah, who attended Stanford – back in 2015 about their career opportunities after the Rio Olympics. As I have a passion for mentoring young people, their questions inspired me to set up the sports-management and education company Harvest Sky, so I could provide mentorship and career counselling to other athletes. I began the company in 2016 with more than 30 founding ambassadors, who are elite and amateur athletes from various sports.

At the Athletes Career and Education Programme, I mentor retired athletes who are interested in sports education and entrepreneurial pursuits. I also identify new corporate mentors and employers who are interested in hiring retired athletes on a part- or full-time basis.

The main challenge in promoting Hong Kong athletes internationally is that sports development in the city lags behind the US, Europe and Australia due to lack of support from the government and corporations. However, with the recent accomplishments of Siobhan Haughey and Cheung Ka Long, I’m glad to see increasing attention and support for sports here. I hope this trend will continue to flourish.

Another problem is that Hong Kong schools offer physical education classes that are rather basic and mundane. The spirit of sports education should include scholarships for outstanding athletes, fireside chats by Olympians or Asian Game medalists, and even tours to sports museums and institutions, so that students are motivated
to succeed as athletes.

Training for professional athletes in Hong Kong is considered rigorous, mostly under the curriculum of the Hong Kong Sports Institute. However, professional athletes should also interact with more international athletes who can mentor them, fostering a global perspective and mentality. Special Olympians and Paralympians should also be offered the same type of training, competition and incentives opportunities to raise unified sports in Hong Kong to the next level.

Women in sports still sometimes encounter gender inequality and social bias. Unisex sports such as polo, ultimate frisbee and pickleball tend to see male players as stronger athletes. However, we’re seeing more women and girls participating in all sorts of sports nowadays. I foresee increased opportunities from corporations and the government to empower women to participate in sports.

A sport I see becoming more popular in Hong Kong is swimming, possibly inspired by Siobhan’s success. Running is another sport that can be elevated to a higher level with the recent achievements of Wilson Wong in breaking Hong Kong’s full marathon record. The third is pickleball, which is an accessible, inexpensive and fun unisex sport for all ages.

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The inaugural Prestige Women of Power Summit was created with a simple purpose in mind: to educate and inspire – 16 empowering speeches, two workshops and a networking session, all proved that these women are a force to be reckoned with.

On June 8th, the inaugural Prestige Women of Power Summit welcomed its first cohort of speakers and esteemed guests to the grand ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong with refreshments courtesy of BeWater and a fine selection of tea and coffee. We started with a welcoming speech by the managing director and publisher of Prestige Oceana Ou, who outlined the purpose of the Women of Power project: to celebrate an ever-expanding collective of female leaders who have not only enjoyed the success in their fields of expertise but will also empower others to follow their footsteps.

The Summit included three pillars: Leadership, Mentorship and Relationship. The Leadership session began with the words of Deputy Director of Hong Kong Palace Museum Daisy Wang, who painted a vivid historical excursion into how women of the Qing Dynasty Court took power. She then passed the baton to Hong Kong’s celebrated queer rights activist and philanthropist Gigi Chao, whose speech was followed by architect Betty Ng’s deliciously poignant dark comedy on failure.

The Mentorship pillar included inspiring speech from Olympian Sarah Lee and who donned an outfit from Chloé’s spring/summer 2023 collection. CEO of Stratford Finance and now a chairman of The Women’s Foundation, Angelina Kwan, followed with her notes on the “Queen Bee Syndrome” and the uphill battle that is mutual female empowerment today. Towards the tail end of the Summit, the Relationship section encompassed a heartfelt conversation between human rights lawyer Patricia Ho and CEO of Mother’s Choice Alia Eyres and speeches on the role gender equality plays in mental health delivered by Carol Liang and Candice Powell of MindHK.

The night went on as the speakers, accompanied by the entourage of admiring friends and fellow women of power descended to Argo for a cocktail reception, where Veuve Cliquot champagne and signature mixological creations flowed to the chords of rich conversation and jubilant laughter.

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The deputy director of curatorial and programming at the Hong Kong Palace Museum and Prestige Woman of Power, Daisy Wang talks about the recent and triumphant Cartier and Women exhibition, vintage finds and her style heroines.

How did you get into your current career?

I began my museum career as a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, which is a great starting place for a junior curator. I was spoiled because it’s a world- class, encyclopaedic museum. My first job was to study some of the most precious pieces of ancient Chinese painting and calligraphy. I couldn’t even believe they let me handle those national treasures. I think the most rewarding part is to see that your visitors are inspired by the things that excite you. The second is that I’m interested in textiles particularly, costume accessories, jewellery – all kinds of things. I’m also interested in portraiture. When I look at a painting, I look at things people may not even notice. That’s what I’m most excited about, because I’m working on a book about portraiture of empresses inside of Qing palaces, a follow-up on my last exhibition about Qing empresses within the Forbidden City.

How did the Cartier and Women exhibition come about?

I was thinking, even today, there are so many important women who are shaping the history of Cartier and it would be fantastic if we could use a Qing Dynasty-women perspective to look at Cartier. Without any sort of hesitation, they responded with great enthusiasm. And that’s how we started the project. But again, I have a fantastic team of curators, editors, designers and educators who put this together, including the book. I was involved quite later in terms of a detailed understanding of Cartier’s history. I learned about so many different facets of women who I thought I was familiar with, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly.

Do you have a favourite piece in the Cartier and Women exhibition?

I was struck by the deeds of Queen Elizabeth of the Belgians. She was born in Germany in the 19th century, but was most active in the early 20th century. She had a medical diploma. She nursed wounded soldiers during the First World War. And during the Second World War she sheltered and helped many Jewish children in Belgium. I was also struck by how passionate she was about the arts and science. She was an accomplished violinist and pianist. She also supported poets, writers and musicians. And she also changed her tiara into a bandeau in the 1920s, so she could have more freedom of movement.

How does your curatorial eye affect your personal style?

It’s intuitive. I tend to go for historical pieces. One of my style icons is Anna May Wong, who was active in the early decades of the 20th century. In many images, she’s wearing historical pieces inspired by Chinese traditional costume, sometimes recycled Qing Dynasty embroidery and other things. Of course, I don’t wear gold ornaments from the museum’s collections, but I do go to flea and antique markets whenever I have the chance. Sometimes, I travel to places because of textiles. A friend gave me a 57-year-old Guatemalan poncho. As I was out walking, somebody recognised it as coming from a Guatemalan village, so I went there. I also recently discovered that my maternal grandmother’s family was involved in silk manufacturing, which my parents never taught me about. And turns out my maternal great grandmother made lace when she was a widow. My grandmother inherited a lot of things from her. So, my grandmother left old family heirloom dresses and tops for me.

How difficult is it curating a textile exhibition?

Number one: it’s very difficult to display costume, because you’re looking at organic materials like silk or cotton, ramie and hemp. They’re fragile. Number two: sensitivity to light, temperature and humidity. Number three: in this part of the world textile is an understudied area. Because it’s receiving relatively less academic attention, you don’t have many people pursuing textile in universities. And the fourth challenge: making your exhibition accessible and relatable to visitors. For example, I’m trying to present more textile, but I receive a lot of, not just resistance, but why do we even bother? Can you just use a replica? I’m trying to encourage people to show more textile, but it’s difficult logistically. Even the Emperor gown – you can just imagine how difficult it was to dress an emperor if I had to dress a mannequin.

Which book are you currently reading?

It’s a Kyoto Costume Institute publication. This Japanese edition was founded with a goal to collect Western European and American Textiles. I was quite inspired, because I think that we’re trying to learn about our own costume history. But look at Japan. They not only look at their own history, but at European fashion. You know, when you study Chinese costume history, you can’t study in isolation, you have to look at what’s going on around you.

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‘Twas the night to celebrate the new cohort joining the community of Prestige Women of Power. Our guests stunned on the red carpet in sleek silhouettes and bright coloured frocks before entering The Magistracy for an evening of bubbles, bites and brilliant banter.

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Founder and CEO of Rue Madame Fashion Group, which brought almost 100 European brands to Hong Kong, Ariane Zagury was still cutting strategic deals with major brands while heavily pregnant with twins. Now a mother of four, she doubled the number of stores during the pandemic and launched two new e-commerce platforms. Paris-born Zagury worked in investment banking in her home city and London before moving to Hong Kong, where she says she “bloomed”. Discerning a lack of variety in women’s designer brands, she founded Rue Madame, utilising her family’s roots in textile retailing to create a unique concept store. In another life, the affable Zagury says she’d have been “a wedding matchmaker. I like people and interacting with people – it’s why I wake up in the morning and why I work. I simply like making people happier.” Although dreaming of travel to Oman, Colombia and Sicily, she’s spent the pandemic focused on expanding her company and retaining all her staff.

SUPERPOWER

While growing her company as a leader in women’s contemporary fashion and athleisure in Asia, Zagury also hopes to encourage female entrepreneurship. As for success in business, she says, “It’s OK to make mistakes, but embrace your failures and use them to become stronger.”

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Colleen Yu Fung is the founder and CEO of EX-R International, a marketing company focusing on creating lavish events in the fields of luxury, music, edutainment and the arts. Now a mother of two, Yu Fung is a Carnegie Mellon University graduate, who previously worked for seven years at Goldman Sachs. She recently co-founded Yum Me Play a children’s learning platform that now has more than 20,000 visitors and 3,000 members. Yu Fung is also on the board of Make a Wish Hong Kong and Hagar International, and is co-chair of The Hong Kong Ballet Guild and the Nutcracker Benefit.

SUPERPOWER

Creating transformative experiences for brands. “Power?” asks Yu Fung. “The future goal for my company would be to become the powerhouse of experiences in Asia, one that can make a mark in a person’s life by fostering personal passions and inspiring bigger dreams.”

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Architect and Founding Partner of Eskyiu, an award-winning multi-disciplinary architecture studio based in Hong Kong, the Columbia and Princeton alum and mother of twin boys Marisa Yiu has her hands full. On top of all this, she’s co-founder and executive director of the Design Trust. By spearheading the creation of long-term, intelligent and meaningful platforms to fund innovative interdisciplinary design investigations, Yiu’s influence on the regional design community has been impactful, thought-provoking and noble. She was chief curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture and curated the Pop-Up Studio-X Shenzhen at the Value Factory. Today, running the Design Trust’s flagship Futures Studio programme keeps her occupied alongside commercial architectural design work (with partner Eric Schuldenfrei) on projects such as the interiors in a 22-storey tower for K11.

SUPERPOWER

Through Design Trust Futures Studio, Yiu has helped provide critical mentorship and funding to the next generation and powerful engagement with the city. Addressing social issues, values and engagement through design, its popular micro parks projects curated by Yiu (for example, the recently opened Yi Pei Square Playground and Portland Street Rest Garden) is testament to the huge impact that even small, intelligently designed public spaces can have on local communities.

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Cecilia Yeung is Hong Kong’s high-jump record holder, breaking the local record six times and winning a silver medal at the 2017 Asian Championships. But her path to success hasn’t been obstacle-free – Yeung has endured injuries that prevented her from competing, as well as the constant pressure of all eyes being on her to earn a ticket to the Olympics. She’s hasn’t let negativity or inner demons get to her head, and continues to spread her own brand of positivity to her fans both during and out of training. Her biggest mission is to break her own personal record again and to go to the Olympics, but she’s also founded the Aim Higher Club to inspire the young. Yeung makes motivational speeches in schools and universities, inspiring students to find their life goals whether through sport or other passions.

SUPERPOWER

Yeung spreads an abundance of positivity via Instagram to her 120K-and-counting followers. Not one to quit even when the going gets tough, her goal is to jump higher and break her own record, while also spreading her aim-higher mentality to those around her.

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Singapore-born Yenn Wong is the mastermind behind award-winning hospitality sensation JIA Group, which counts 12 venues in Hong Kong. After graduating from the University of Western Australia and starting her career in hospitality at the age of 23, she founded JIA in 2010. Ranging from Michelin-star restaurants, such as Louise and Andō, to trendy eateries like Potato Head Hong Kong, over the years the group has brought to life some of our city’s most successful and popular venues. Meaning “home” in Mandarin, JIA has been praised for creating authentic and stylish concepts. A key leader in contemporary hospitality, Wong was named one of Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneurs by Businessweek in 2008 and among the top three finalists for the Rising Star Award in the Financial Times RBS Coutts’ Women in Asia Awards 2009. Additionally, she was named Restaurateur of the Year by WOM Guide in 2014 and an Outstanding Women Entrepreneur by the Asean Women Entrepreneurs Forum 2015.

SUPERPOWER

In just 10 years, Wong has established JIA as the epitome of contemporary hospitality based on originality and excellence in a dining scene where standing out has become increasingly hard.

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A gender-studies scholar who teaches at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sonia Wong founded Reel Women Hong Kong in 2013 to support gender awareness through film, showcasing work by female filmmakers. In 2018, she co-founded the Women’s Festival, whose programme focuses on current topics as seen through the female point of view, which held its fourth edition earlier this year. She contributes to a variety of community initiatives and sits on committees for the migrant-worker solidarity outfit One Billion Rising Hong Kong, Gay Games Hong Kong, the migrant women’s crisis shelter Bethune House, and Migrants’ Pride. She was awarded the Happy Homes Award 2021 from the Mission for Migrant Workers, and is also a writer, poet, curator and visual artist who dreams of the day she can retire from advocacy work and teaching gender studies because it’s no longer needed.

SUPERPOWER

Paradoxically angry and positive, Wong is passionate about her causes and straddles binaries as she breaks them down. She loves Vogue as much as she admires Foucault, and is able to take an academic approach to pop-culture issues just as she can find mainstream narratives within the more sophisticated subject matter, making her an intellectual force to be reckoned with.

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