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HK Magazine

The Boss: David Harilela
“I tackle everything meticulously: I think every email should be answered.”
The Job: CEO of the David Harilela Group, entrepreneur and philanthropist David Harilela holds a pivotal role in one of the city’s biggest and most successful families.
Philosophy: “When my father died, a whole bunch of things fell on my shoulders. I totally changed, and wanted to take care of my family: my daughters and wife, and also my extended family. I am very old-fashioned in that way. I’ve always been a little bit of rock, a little bit of roll. That’s me.”

On the Desk:
Family photographs
“My father insisted on taking pictures of the family, especially when he started getting sick. These are mementos, and I just like to keep them near me. If I were as pretty as my wife and daughters, I might be in more photos myself, but I’m not photogenic.”

Guitar figurine
“I wished to be a rock star when I was young, and sometimes I’ll bring my guitar and set it up in the office. So my sister, who is a sculptor, gave this to me to remind me of my passion and my musical roots.”

Hindu shrine
“In Hinduism, we believe that god can come in any form. Hinduism accepts all religions, so the principle is basically, ‘Different highways, same destination.’ I keep this temple closed usually so I don’t freak anyone out, but we pray every day before we get started. In Indian “godology,” let’s call it, Lord Shiva is our family’s chosen deity. It’s the god of destruction—not something evil—but of your body: the cravings, the envy, the weaknesses.”

Richard Zawitz sculpture
“I also have lots of cool gifts in here too, this is the latest from a friend, Rich. He’s a sculptor, and it’s so cool—you can make any shape you want with this. It’s pretty famous and actually he designed it for autistic children. It’s just simple yet creative and different every time.” Sculptures of elderly men “I really love these sculptures of old people that my father kept. I think it’s important to respect age and love the old. Today most young people want to be away from them, but I love what these represent.”

Sculptures of elderly men
“I really love these sculptures of old people that my father kept. I think it’s important to respect age and love the old. Today most young people want to be away from them, but I love what these represent.”

Cards from family
“My family is very important to me. I am very sentimental so I keep these things close to me. I think this was for Father’s Day.”

 

The Boss: Kevin Poon
“I feel obstacles even today. Every day is a difficult journey. Coffee and music help me feel a bit better.”
The Job: Founder and owner of streetwear label Clot and fashion store Juice, Kevin Poon also runs marketing agencies District and Social Capital, lifestyle store WOAW and recently opened coffee shop Elephant Grounds. That’s not all: he was also behind last year’s hip-hop music festival Blohk Party.
Philosophy: “Clot came about when we wanted to influence the culture and change the way things were done here. There was no good music; fashion was only Versace and all that stuff. We wanted to create a subculture. Clot means ‘coming together.’ I had no idea that we could be happy, do things that we like and make a difference.”

On the Desk:
Shoe collection
“A lot of brands give things to people so they can Instagram them. I didn’t get given all of them—but the majority, yes. I also have a sneaker shop, so it’s all work-related—trust me.”

Neon “P” sign
“There’s a Parisian streetwear brand I work with a lot called Pigalle, which we brought to Hong Kong a few months ago for a capsule collection. Together with the Paris nightclub Le Pompon, we did a pop-up night in Hong Kong, and in the end I was given this neon “P” sign as a gesture of gratitude.”

Mood board
“It’s a seasonal mood board that I create for the collection at Clot. It helps me visualize my thoughts.”

Bacon brooch
“I was trying to get inspired for the ice cream sandwich flavors I’m working on.”

Sunglasses
“The top two are by Illesteva and the bottom ones are from Preen by Thornton Bregazzi. Sunglasses are a must. Why? It’s quite self-explanatory.”

“Love” statues
“These statues are by [American pop artist] Robert Indiana. They remind me to be positive.”

Espresso cup
“We’re really going in the deep end with Elephant Grounds, because we feel that Hong Kong doesn’t really have good coffee. We want to create coffee for hipsters: artisanal, roasted coffee. We have the Bulletproof coffee, which consists of MCT oil, coconut oil and grass-fed butter—it gives you a super-kick for seven hours without the crash.”

Visit WOAW & Elephant Grounds, 11 Gough St., Sheung Wan, 2253-1313.
 

The Boss: Cecil Chao
“This [office] design is a little bit modern-classical—if you are here all the time, you want something that’s attractive, timeless and comfortable.”
The Job: Chairman of real estate firm Cheuk Nang Holdings, Cecil Chao got his start as an architect, before his shrewd business sense took him into property. Over the years, he has turned his business into a multi-billion-dollar empire.
Philosophy: “You can’t enjoy your life in full if you don’t work hard. I can still contribute to society and help my company do better: I don’t see why I should retire. I believe that life has to have a balance. You have to exercise, enjoy entertainment and work hard. Of course, when you’re young, working is the first priority. Gradually, you make more money: the priority becomes your health, then pleasure.”

On the Desk:
Trading computer
“I look at this whenever I have time: you can watch your shares and transactions. Nowadays, you don’t have to call anyone, you can just do it yourself. I don’t do it all day, but once in a while I will check in. This looks at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which closed at 173.80 today; previous closing was 171.20.”

Crystal glass set
“These are not antiques, but it’s good crystal glassware that I bought from somewhere in Europe a long time ago. Maybe Italy or France, but it’s hard for me to remember exactly. It’s just for decoration really, but I drink my water out of it.”

Zhang Daqian paintings
“I met Zhang Daqian, a famous Chinese painter, when I was young, because my mother was a great painter and my father was an antiques collector. People say this painting might be a self-portrait, because it looks like him.”

Jade antiques
“My father collected all kinds of antiques, mainly Chinese paintings, jade, porcelain and screens, so of course I was influenced. These are small jade antiques that I bought at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions. They’re just very pretty, and the carvings are intricate and detailed. They are very expensive items that are part of my bigger collection, and I love to have them in the office.”

Family photos
“These are some pictures that I like to keep in my office; they’ve been here for about 10 years. That’s me and my daughter Gigi when she was young.”
 

The Boss: Stephanie Hogan
“I joke and say, ‘Here I am in the food business, and I’m so busy that I barely have time to eat.’ But when we do eat, we eat and drink the really good stuff.”
The Job: Director and chief operating officer of F&B group Eclipse Hospitality Group, running the likes of Havana, Taku and Coyote, Stephanie Hogan is all about teamwork, creativity and adaptation in the fast-paced restaurant industry.
Philosophy: “We’re very fun, funky and fluid. It’s such a fast-moving market that we have to evolve quickly. In this town, there is absolutely zero margin for error so you have to be very business-smart and on top of your game.”

On the Desk:
Strategy wall
“This office is very New York lofty: we are very creative on our walls—we write on them and have strategy meetings over here. We have multiple concepts across multiple locations, so we have a ‘daily huddle’ every morning to keep everyone on the same page, working towards what we call a ‘wildly important goal.’”
Cigar humidor
“You have to have your cigars, in case you’re entertaining. And really it’s about world travel, and about life experience. I should have a bigger wall, but space is limited in Hong Kong. One is fortunate to have what they have.”

Cookbooks
“I am a CIA girl—not the secret service, but I trained at the Culinary Institute of America. My father said that if I was going to go into hospitality, I should understand the fundamentals in order to be successful. The devil is in the detail—and food really is a science. So when we open up a new concept, we have to do the R&D, go to the country, and check things out. We have our amazing rum bar Havana and we try to be quite authentic in what we do, so there are a lot of Cuban books up here.”

Antique Chinese chairs
“What I love about this group and this portfolio is that we have all kinds of concepts. It’s ironic that you’re sitting in Chinese antique chairs, which belong to Clayton Parker, our managing director, but we actually don’t do Chinese. Being in Hong Kong, there are a lot of Asian operators that do it better than us.”

Orchid
“The entire office gave it to me, and every time I look at it, it reminds me of nature and that I need to slow down and ‘smell the orchid.’ The flowers came with this cool caricature. It totally captures me!”



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