Transforming from civil servant into businessman
Wilfred Wong Ying-wai joined Sands China in November 2015 and has more than 40 years of extensive handson management and business development experience in property development and construction for a number of Hong Kong listed companies, including being chairman and chief executive of Hsin Chong Construction Group.
Wong said he has three lives at once. He was also a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee, member of the Preliminary Working Committee and subsequently the Preparatory Committee responsible for establishing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He was also elected as a member of the National People’s Congress for 15 years, from 1997 to 2012. He is currently chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council and chairman of the Asian Film Awards Academy.
Wong is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and obtained a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University in the United States. He also attended Oxford University for post-graduate studies.
“I think life is about accepting challenges,” said Wong. Inspired by the speech of Deng Xiaoping during his trip to South China in 1992, Wong decided to do business in the Chinese mainland, having served in various different levels of the Hong Kong government for more than a decade.
Wong thinks being a management person is to be a team captain and cheer leader. He said he needs to make decisions on employees’ promotion based on his observation and individuals are very important to the company so they hold an annual event to award employees who have been working for this company for more than 10 years to reward their contribution.
Wong’s method to balance work and life is “doing what you like is the best balance”. For example he is a lover of film and the arts so he enjoys dinners and events when he serves as the chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council and chairman of the Asian Film Awards Academy.
His advice to the young generation is “follow your heart”; following one’s heart is a thinking process which takes time. He said times have changed as many people stayed in one company for their lifetime in the old days but now people are chasing self-fulfillment and they have many choices. “But you will find your way after the struggling and thinking in your mind,” said Wong.