Champion Reit CEO brings a touch of ‘grassroots’ to the tough world of Hong Kong retail

With Ada Wong Ka-ki at its helm, Champion Reit – operator of iconic Langham Place in Mong Kok – has applied her appreciation of the culture prevalent among local youth to help make the bricks-and-mortar mall a trendy and down to earth experience despite the shift to online shopping.

Having worked almost 15 years with Citigroup and JP Morgan’s investment banking arms in New York and Hong Kong, the 36-year-old was passed the torch from Adrian Lee Ching-ming, 64, to become the second woman and one of the youngest CEOs of a real estate investment trust listed in Hong Kong.

While most of her career was spent in the impressive offices of Wall Street, New York, and in Hong Kong’s prime Central district, she shared with the South China Morning Post her youthful affection for wandering around grassroots areas like Kowloon - from Tsim Sha Tsui to Prince Edward.

“When I was young I was always strolling around Mong Kok… I knew all the places in TST, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Prince Edward,” she said at the event space in Champion Reit’s Three Garden Road prime office building, formerly Citibank Plaza, in Central.

A shopping lover herself, Wong said Langham Place, which she calls “representative of Mong Kok”, planned to welcome more stylish pop up stores that appeal to teenagers and young working professionals, while shunning luxury retailers that were “not too fun to walk into”.

She also talks about the company’s property investment strategies at home and abroad and future growth drivers.