Poman Lo (Chinese: 羅寶文) is the Vice Chairman of Century City International Holdings Limited and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Regal Hotels Group. Century City Group comprises a total of five listed entities in Hong Kong, including Century City International Holdings Limited (investment holding), Paliburg Holdings Limited (property development and investment), Regal Hotels International Holdings Limited (hotel operation and management), Regal Real Estate Investment Trust (first hotel REIT in Hong Kong), and Cosmopolitan International Holdings Limited (China real estate and investments).^[1]

Poman is the Founding Managing Partner of AlphaTrio Capital, an Asia-focused sustainable technology fund empowering the next wave of green tech unicorns to provide disruptive solutions for the world's most pressing environmental challenges.^[2]

Poman serves as an Adjunct Professor teaching sustainable business management and impact investing at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology^[3] and The University of Hong Kong. She founded the non-profit Institute of Sustainability and Technology^[4] with a mission to nurture the next generation of ESG talent through executive education and advance the sustainability agenda through interdisciplinary research and international conferences.

Poman has been officially appointed as Member of Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group,^[5] Member of the Green Technology and Finance Development Committee,^[6] Council Member of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,^[7] Foundation Member of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Member of the Advisory Board of the Hong Kong Academy of Wealth Legacy,^[8] Member of the Curriculum Development Council Standing Committee on Values Education,^[9] and also serves as the Honorary President of Hong Kong Federation of Women. As a global champion of Sustainable development, Poman takes an active leadership role at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). She was appointed Co-Chair of the ESBN Finance Task Force and member of the Executive Committee of ESBN,^[10] and serves as Chair of the Asia Pacific Business Forum Organizing Committee and Chair of Asia Pacific Green Deal for Business Committee.^[11]

She is a public speaker in the areas of sustainability, green finance, and management, including having accepted invitations to speak by the Milken Institute,^[12] UN Global Compact Leaders Summit,^[13] Financial Times,^[14] South China Morning Post,^[15] and more.

In 2015, she became the first female Asian recipient of the Oslo Business for Peace Award by the Business for Peace Foundation in Norway, which recognizes business leaders who strive to improve society by creating value for all stakeholders in an ethical and responsible way.^[16]

Early life

Poman is the granddaughter of Hong Kong property tycoon Lo Ying-shek, who co-founded Great Eagle Holdings and was known locally as the "tycoon of Hong Kong hotels."^[17] She is the daughter of Lo Yuk-sui, the chairman and CEO of Century City International Holdings, Paliburg Holdings, Regal Hotels International Holdings and Cosmopolitan International Holdings, and the chairman of Regal REIT.

At 14, Poman became the youngest person to have won the “Hong Kong Outstanding Students Award”, which is an annual student contest which since 1985 has selected the region’s most promising students based on the following criteria: outstanding academic performance, extracurricular achievement, community service track record, commitment to society, leadership potential and morality.^[18] She later became the only awardee to also be subsequently selected for the Outstanding Young Person of the World Award.^[19]  A child prodigy, Poman was awarded the Angier B. Duke Scholarship at 15 and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Psychology from Duke University at 19.^[20] In 2005, she co-authored a chapter in the book, Asian Culture and Psychotherapy, with Professor Fanny M. Cheung and Professor Yiqun Gan^[21] which examined the influence of sociocultural context on individuals’ manifestations of abnormal behavior that affect treatment outcomes of psychotherapy amongst Chinese patients.

Bodhi Love Foundation

To foster holistic well-being and positive values in children and youths, Poman founded Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) in 2013.^[22] In 2015, the organization attained Section 88 tax exempt charity status from the Inland Revenue Department.^[23]  The charity has organized several charitable events and student competitions, in addition to donating towards various causes such as the Bodhi Love Foundation Entrance Scholarship for Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine at the City University of Hong Kong.^[24]  From 2020-2021, the best-selling author of “Emotional Intelligence”, Dr. Daniel Goleman, served as an advisor to the charity.^[25]  As of 2021, the Foundation has focused on providing mindfulness-based training to educators and parents through its SEED (Social, Emotional and Ethical Development) program. As of 2022, it has implemented SEED in 11 pilot kindergartens where instructors have trained over 100 teachers in mindfulness and equipped them with skills needed to deliver a locally adapted evidence-based kindness curriculum for children.

ESG Commitment

Since joining the family business in 2000,^[17] Poman has led Regal Hotels International’s emergence as a sustainability leader in Hong Kong’s hospitality industry.  In 2010, the Regal iclub Hotel in Wan Chai was established and became the first in Hong Kong to be granted carbon neutral status.^[26] The hotel group’s commitment to the environment has continued to grow. All five Regal hotels in Hong Kong have since achieved both EarthCheck Gold Certification^[27] and the Class of Excellence Wastewi$e Label of the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence.^[28]  Four iclub hotels were also recognized with EarthCheck Silver Certification. 

In 2022, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, Regal Hotels Group cooperated with various government departments and charitable organizations to provide support among the elderly, including the donation of food and health supplies to those in need. Poman Lo also established “Bodhi Online”, a free hotline to provide counseling support for the elderly to relieve emotional stress and foster holistic well-being.^[29]

Bodhi and Friends

Children’s Books

In 2006, Poman decided to resume contributing to children’s healthy psychological development.^[30]  A dog lover, she turned her poodle into a cartoon character named Bodhi.  Working with students from a local vocational institute in Hong Kong, Poman launched a comic series that was published daily in Metro Daily and weekly in East Week and Whiz Kids Express, reaching a total of 1.5 million potential readers every week.^[31] In 2007, she published a Chinese children’s book entitled Bodhi Happy Family – Moral and Civic Education, which is a collection of comic stories intended to inspire moral development in youngsters.^[32]  In 2010, she published 5 Quotients to Success, a creative compilation of pictures and original comic artwork paired with inspirational quotes to foster holistic development.  Poman donated the author’s royalties received for both books entirely to support Po Leung Kuk’s Language Training Program for orphans. 

Animated Series

In 2012, Poman founded Century Innovative Technology to build Bodhi and Friends as a household brand in China.^[33]  In 2014, the first season of her 3D animated television series, Bodhi and Friends, made its CCTV Children Channel debut during the winter holiday at 6 p.m. prime time.^[30]

Philanthropy

As an active figure in the community, Poman presently serves as Member of the HKSAR Election Committee (Hotel Subsector),^[34] Central Advisory Board Member of the Hong Kong Police Force Animal Watchers Programme, and Steering Committee Member of the HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund.^[35] She also currently sits on the Board of the Yale Emotional Intelligence China Center.

Poman was elected Chairperson of The Outstanding Young Persons’ Association for the 2014-2015 term^[36] and Chairman of the Tomorrow’s Leaders Summit.^[37]  She was also previously appointed and served on the board of various other organizations such as the City University of Hong Kong (where she was also Trustee), Quality Education Fund, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Country and Marine Parks Board, Lord Wilson Heritage Trust, Duke Kunshan University Foundation and Teach for Hong Kong.  In addition, Poman is a former committee member of UNICEF Hong Kong, Centum Charitas Foundation and Admission of Quality Migrants and Professionals.^[38] Her other previous volunteer engagements include serving as an Ambassador of Oxfam HK,^[39] Doctor Pet and Hong Kong Guide Dog Association.^[40]

Personal life

Poman is a devout Buddhist and is currently completing a part-time Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies.^[41]  She has been a vegetarian since 2007.^[42] She has also penned the lyrics for three hit songs. One was “Love Paradise”, a popular English Cantopop song performed by Kelly Chen and written as part of the award-winning marketing campaign^[43] for Regalia Bay, a large modern townhouse development in Stanley which was completed in 2004.^[44] Another song Poman wrote the lyrics for was “Love and Shine”, the Mandarin theme song of Bodhi and Friends.^[45] The third song she wrote was the Mandopop song “Dream of Bliss 《幸福夢》”, performed by Zhang Bichen.^[46]

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