Ho Kwon Ping

Ho Kwon Ping (Chinese: 何光平; born 24 August 1952) is a Singaporean businessman. He is the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, a Singapore-based leisure business group, which owns both listed and private companies engaged in the development, ownership and operation of hotels, resorts, spas, residential homes, retail galleries and other lifestyle activities in the region.

Early life
Ho was born to Ho Rih Hwa, a businessman and diplomat, and Li Lienfung, the noted bilingual author.

Ho was born in Hong Kong but lived his childhood years in Thailand where his father, Ho Rih Hwa, was Singapore's Ambassador to the country. He was educated in Thailand, Taiwan, USA and Singapore. He went on to Tunghai University in Taiwan where the exposure to Chinese culture left a deep impact on him. After a year in Taiwan, he left for Stanford University in the United States. After returning to Singapore, he did his national service as a combat engineer. He later studied at the National University of Singapore, where he graduated in economics and history with a silver medal awarded by the Singapore Employers' Federation for being the second most outstanding student in the final year examination.

Career
In 1977, while working as a journalist for the Far Eastern Economic Review, an English Asian news magazine based in Hong Kong, Ho was detained under the Internal Security Act for writing articles in the Far Eastern Economic Review and put into solitary confinement for two months.

After Ho's release, he continued to work as a journalist, settling on Banyan Tree Bay in Hong Kong with his wife for three years. Ho's foray into the business world came several years later when he decided to join the family business after his father suffered a stroke. Assuming the mantle as the eldest son, Ho took the reins of the company. He went on to distinguish himself as a businessman, making the cover of Fortune International magazine in 1990, and opening the first Banyan Tree resort in Phuket in 1994.

A respected public intellectual, Ho was appointed the inaugural S R Nathan Fellow by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2014 and delivered five public lectures on Politics & Governance, Economy & Business, Security and Sustainability, Demography and Family, and Society and Identity. Ho was conferred an honorary doctorate by Johnson & Wales University in 2000, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2015.

Career Highlights
197? : TV news producer, SBC.

197? : Financial correspondent and Economics Editor for Far Eastern Economic Review, Hong Kong.

1981 : President, Wah Chang/Thai Wah Group.

1993 - 1995 : Chairman, Practice Performing Arts Ltd.

1994 - 1995 : Deputy Chairman, Public Utilities Board.

1994 - 2000 : Chairman, Singapore Power.

1995 : President Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts.

1995 : Governor, Singapore International Foundation.

1995 : Governor, Civil Service College

1995 : Chairman, National Council on the Environment.

2000 : Director, Singapore Airlines.

2000 : Chairman, Singapore Management University.

2004 : Director, MediaCorp.

2004 : Director, Singapore Tourism Board.

Personal life
Ho's father was businessman and diplomat Ho Rih Hwa. His mother was chemist and bilingual writer Li Lienfung. Ho is married to entrepreneur and former Nominated Member of Parliament, Claire Chiang. The couple has three children, Ren Hua, Ren Yung and Ren Chun, as well as a grandson Kang Peng. In 2015, Ho wrote his first book "The Ocean in a Drop - Singapore: The Next Fifty Year", a compilation of his lectures during his time as the S R Nathan Fellow.