Philip N. L. Chen, SEP '95
Managing Director
Hang Lung Properties Limited
Philip Chen is managing director of Hang Lung Properties Limited and Hang Lung Group
Limited in Hong Kong.
He is the former chairman of John Swire and Sons (China) Ltd., chief executive of Cathay
Pacific Airways Ltd., and a director of Swire Pacific Ltd. and John Swire and Sons (Hong
Kong) Ltd. He first joined the Swire Group in 1977 and was assigned to Cathay Pacific.
He became chief executive in 2005 and also chairman of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines
(Dragonair) until 2007. Previously, he was deputy managing director, then coo of Cathay
Pacific. Mr. Chen was the chief executive of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines from 1994 to
1997. Before his appointment at Dragonair, Mr. Chen was regional general manager of
Southeast Asia for Cathay Pacific, based in Singapore. He also has been based in Beijing as
the chief representative and general manager of Swire China, covering a wide range of
different businesses. Mr. Chen was employed by the University of Hong Kong from 1984
to 1988 in charge of the marketing module in the university’s MBA program.
Mr. Chen attended Wah Yan College in Hong Kong and received BA, DMS, and MBA
degrees from the University of Hong Kong. In 1995, he attended the Stanford Executive
Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
He has been appointed to various roles by the HK SAR Government. He is a member of the
Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Aviation Development Advisory Committee.
He also chairs the Quality Assurance Council of the University Grants Committee and the
Corruption Prevention Advisory Committee of the Independent Commission Against
Corruption. He was a nonexecutive director of Hong Kong International Theme Parks
Limited, which runs Hong Kong Disneyland.
Mr. Chen is a steward of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and also is involved in education
both locally and overseas, as well as in various trade and community activities. He has
published seven books of travel stories written in Chinese, two of which have been
published in Mainland China and Taiwan. They all reached the best-seller list and the
royalties from the book sales have been donated to two charities. Also, with much passion
and effort researching his “Great Cities Theory” over many years, he published Great Cities
of the World in June 2010.
In 2000, the Hong Kong Government appointed Mr. Chen as a justice of peace and
awarded him the Silver Bauhinia Star in July 2002. He was bestowed the distinction of
Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by the French Government in July 2009.
Mr. Chen is married with one son and one daughter.