Claire Cormier Thielke

A Stanford graduate with degrees in urban planning and design, construction management and engineering, and a former long sprinter with the US track and field team, Claire Cormier Thielke now calls Hong Kong home as the Greater China head of the Hines Interests real-estate company. If that portfolio of achievements were somehow insufficient, she also recently made waves – and quite literally – as a member of the first-ever women’s team to swim around Hong Kong Island, a feat that raised more than HK$1 million for the Splash Foundation charity in 2021. Aside from leading all of Hines’ acquisitions, development and business-generation activities in the region, Thielke even finds time for a wide range of activities and passions that includes building confidence in Hong Kong’s next generation through mentorship and sport, supporting local artists in whichever ways she can, and mentoring or advising young tech entrepreneurs and start-ups. “I’m a creature of habit,” she says. “I run every morning before sunrise on Bowen Road, I enjoy swimming in Deep Water Bay, and I love hiking and wakesurfing with my friends all over Hong Kong.” As for a personal ambition for this woman who says she’s “proud to be an adopted Hong Konger”, Thielke admits she has a goal to run every single street and alleyway in the city. “I’m working on it,” she says – and we’re not betting on her not achieving it.