THERE is nothing like a holiday to concentrate the mind on a career. When Edward Cheng returned from leave it immediately became obvious what had dominated his thoughts during the break.
Within days, the executive director of the Wharf Group had told his colleagues and executive chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching that he was leaving.
Less than two weeks later, a brief announcement had been made to the press and Mr Cheng had left ''to take a position in his family's business''.
It was a difficult decision. Eight years with the sprawling Wharf conglomerate had taken the 38-year-old to the inner sanctum of the group: one of the four key executives under Mr Woo responsible for financial operations, hotels development and corporate communications.
Described recently as a ''chairman-in-waiting'' by one Hong Kong analyst, there was little doubt that Mr Cheng faced a bright future with Wharf.
Instead he chose to pursue a path that would reunite him with his four brothers in the family business but which could also produce substantially more returns than he could have achieved at Wharf.