“Buddhist wisdom helps to broaden and shape my vision”; Last December, Poman Lo took over as vice chairperson and managing director of the Regal group’s 11 five-star hotels in Hong Kong and in the mainland

Growth with harmony
Imogene Wong and Janis Cheung 
Monday, March 17, 2014
Poman Lo Po-man has never been daddy’s rich little girl despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. As an industrious student she passed all her exams with flying colors.

Even then, everything was not all hunky dory for the vice chairperson and managing director of Regal Hotels International (0078), who admitted that working in the family-owned hotel chain proved to be a real challenge. Rather than taking the easy way out, Lo chose to face difficulties with perseverance albeit with the full backing of her father Lo Yuk- sui, the chairman of the group.

Last December, Lo took over as vice chairperson and managing director of the group’s 11 five-star hotels in Hong Kong and in the mainland. She says everything she knows about running an hotel empire, she learned from her “dear father.”

“Dad always stays calm when dealing with the ups and downs, and this has gained him respect from the entire company,” she said.

“It is remarkable how several veteran chief operating officers have stayed on, working with him for decades. Nevertheless, my dad is fully supportive in everything I do.”

Under Lo’s portfolio are three of the group’s listed companies: property units Century City International (0355) and Regal Real Estate Investment Trust (1881), as well as Cosmopolitan International (0120). Her brother, Jimmy Lo Chun-to, was made vice chairman of Century City International, Cosmopolitan International and Paliburg Holdings (0617).

Senior Lo is still chairman of

Lo does not grudge when anyone refers to her as being the “second generation of a rich family.” all listed companies in the group and has no intention to retire as he enjoys working, his daughter said. She is proud of her impressive pedigree. Her grandfather Lo Ying-shek was the founder of Great Eagle Holdings (0041), and uncle Vincent Lo Hong-sui is the chairman of the Shui On Group.

She told Sing Tao Daily, sister paper of The Standard: “I don’t deny the term … I would have never been who I am today without the support of my parents. I am grateful and will do everything in my means to contribute to society.”

Unlike other rich second generation scions, Lo is not the typical “play hard” type. Instead, she brought laurels to herself and family by her excellent performance in her studies. She was given the Hong Kong Outstanding Student award when she was only 14, got a scholarship at the age of 15, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Duke University, in the United States when she was just 19.

Despite her academic success, Lo was brought down to earth when she joined the family hotel business in 2000.

“I am a Virgo who pursues perfection in everything. I aced all subjects and won all my competitions … thus I found nothing that I could not do or could not achieve,” she said. “Yet, all this changed after I started working because diligence is no longer the only method to win.”

Lo joked that her pursuit for perfection is deeply embedded in her genes. And when dogged by obstacles during her nascent working career, she sought solace in Buddhism. “What I want is not always the same as what others want, and if I hold on too much to it, I am not being logical.”

Her Buddhist beliefs told her that it was important to strike a balance between aiming for perfection in herself and in others.

Everything in life can be related to the idea of Buddhism, especially in business, she said. Being too obsessed and too focused on winning and losing are some of the reasons why one takes a wrong turn or makes a bad decision. “Buddhist wisdom helps to broaden and shape my vision.”

Lo admits that it is challenging to manage a hotel group as big as Regal. But the most critical factor to accomplishing the job is perseverance, she says.

“I think I have a persistent personality. And when I make a decision, I try my best to see it through no matter how hard it is. Therefore, it is important to have discipline.”

Lo also adopted the Buddhist idea of simplicity, environment protection and harmony to forge a new direction for the Regal group. Being a visionary, Lo understood the importance of sustainable development for her hotel chain. In 2010, a plan was made to control carbon emission in the Regal iClub Hotel in Wan Chai, which, incidentally, became the very first hotel in Hong Kong to be accorded carbon neutral status.

As part of Lo’s environmentally friendly strategy, the group will plant trees in Sichuan based on the amount of carbon emitted.

Lo added another feather to her cap when the Regal iClub Hotel in Sheung Wan became the first hotel in the territory to allow guests to check in simply by using their mobile phones. The iClub Mobile Key Check-in service enables a guest to complete the online reservation, after which the room number is sent as a text message. In lieu of a key, the mobile phone can again be used to open the room door, once check-in formalities are completed.

Lo said guests can enter their rooms using their mobile phones or traditional key cards or both.

Lo, a vegetarian, hopes to promote the benefits of green eating in the chain’s restaurants. Most of the Regal hotel restaurants serve a “low carbon menu” based on three principles: use of local food ingredients; reduced use of food additives; and low energy cooking method. A vegetarian cookbook, formulated by the hotel’s 29 restaurants, has also been published.

Lo’s association with the hotel chain goes back a long way. “Regal Hotel was already founded when I was born, and my dad told me a lot about it. So I am familiar with the group, thanks to the knowledge gained from my father.”

She joined the hotel in 2000 and worked in different departments and in various positions including marketing and accounting. To acquaint herself with the workings of each department, Lo worked on shifts. “I made it a point to do shift work since I like to walk the talk,” she says.

Given her exposure of studying and living abroad, Lo is bringing a fresh set of management ideas to her work. She values staff involvement rather than enforcing a “commanding management style,” for example. “Once staff disagree with an order, work satisfaction recedes. Hence, I encourage my staff to speak up,” she says.

Despite her hectic schedule, Lo adores dogs and makes the time to be with her family of pets. “I have six dogs and my mom has eight. Together, we walk our dogs in country parks on weekends.”

Given her passion for dogs, it is little wonder that Lo has produced a 108-episode TV series – Bodhi and Friends – in 3D animation. The characters are based on Lo’s puppies.

Since last month, the show is being shown on China Central Television, and diva Kelly Chen Wai-lam lends her voice for the serial’s theme song. “The whole production lasted more than a year and cost more than HK$10 million.”

Lo believes that high-tech creative materials are essential to teach children good values. And her next project will be to launch hundreds of mobile apps, including games that can easily attract the interest of children.