Lawrence Ho

Lawrence Ho
Born	何猷龍 Ho Yau Lung 1976 (age 47–48) Hong Kong
Alma mater	University of Toronto
Occupation(s)	Chairman and CEO of Melco International Chairman, Executive DIrector and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment
Spouse(s)	Sharen Lo (2000.11－)
Children	1 daughter
Parent(s)	Stanley Ho Lucina Laam

Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (Chinese:何猷龍，born 1976) is a Hong Kong businessman, is the Chairman and CEO of Melco International, the Chairman, Executive Director and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment. He has been described as a "game changer" in the Asian gaming industry.

Early life and education

Ho is the only son and the youngest child of the Hong Kong- and Macau-based businessman Stanley Ho and his second wife Lucina Laam King Ying.

Ho moved to Canada as a child and graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1999. He was also awarded the Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree by Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland in July 2009, affirming his contribution to society in Hong Kong, Macau and China.

Other activities and honors

Ho is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. and serves on numerous boards and committees of privately held companies in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

In recognition of Ho’s directorship and entrepreneurial spirit, Institutional Investor honored him as the “Best CEO” in 2005. He was also granted the “5th China Enterprise Award for Creative Businessmen” by the China Marketing Association and China Enterprise News, “Leader of Tomorrow” by Hong Kong Tatler and the “Directors of the Year Award” by the Hong Kong Institute of Directors in 2005.

Ho was selected as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Persons Selection 2006”, organized by Junior Chamber International Hong Kong. In 2007, he was elected as a finalist in the “Best Chairman” category in the “Stevie International Business Awards” and one of the “100 Most Influential People across Asia Pacific” by Asiamoney magazine. In 2008, he was granted the “China Charity Award” by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. And in 2009, Ho was selected as one of the “China Top Ten Financial and Intelligent Persons” judged by a panel led by the Beijing Cultural Development Study Institute and Fortune Times, and was named “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” at Hong Kong’s first Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards.

In 2014, Ho was selected by FinanceAsia magazine as one of the “Best CEOs in Hong Kong” for the fifth time, and was honored as one of the recipients of the Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards for three consecutive years. He was also awarded “Asia’s Best CEO” at the Asian Excellence Awards by Corporate Governance Asia magazine for the fourth time in 2015.

Career

Ho is the Chairman and CEO of Melco International Development Limited. He is also the Chairman, Executive Director and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment. Ho has also been appointed as the Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Summit Ascent Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange, since July 10, 2013.

In 2001, Ho took over the loss making company Melco International Development Limited. Melco has transformed and re-shuffled the business focus on to leisure and entertainment. Melco has developed its first casino hotel in Taipa, Macau (now known as Altira Macau, a Forbes 5-Star hotel), the acquisition of one of the only six Macau gaming concessionaires and sub-concessionaries, and forming a joint venture (now known as Melco Crown Entertainment) with the Australia billionaire, James Packer’s, Crown Limited (formerly Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd), for Asian gambling business opportunities. In 2006, Melco Crown Entertainment was publicly listed on NASDAQ (ticker symbol: MPEL) and was the fourth-largest IPO in the US and the then largest ever NASDAQ IPO for an Asian company.

In 2009, Melco opened its casino resort City of Dreams Macau. In February 2015, Melco opened its first overseas integrated resort, City of Dreams Manila, in the Philippines. On 27 October 2015, Studio City, a US$3.2 billion Hollywood-inspired integrated resort majority owned and operated by Melco, was officially opened in Cotai. Ho served as the executive producer for the Studio City-inspired short film “The Audition”, Macau’s first Hollywood-produced short-movie starring legends Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Academy-award winning director Martin Scorsese.

Melco also holds interest in Tigre de Cristal, a gaming and resort development project located in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone in Vladivostok, Russia, which was successfully opened on 11 November 2015.

In May 2016, Melco became the single largest shareholder of Melco Crown Entertainment, further bolstering the Group’s financial position through incorporation of the accounting subsidiary’s full financial contributions. Ho was re-designated as Chairman, and will continue to be the executive director and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment.

Under the leadership of Lawrence Ho, Melco has become a world leader in the leisure and entertainment sector with operations in China, Philippines and Russia. Through different companies, the Group is also actively pursuing expansion opportunities in Spain and Cyprus. Its promising performance and distinctive leadership in the industry are also well recognized worldwide.

As of August 2016, Ho has an estimated net worth of US$1.18 billion.

Personal life

Ho is married to Sharen Lo Shau Yan, granddaughter of the founder of beverage maker Vitasoy, Kwee Seong Lo. Their daughter was born in September 2006.