LEADERSHIP & BOARD of DIRECTORS
Board Chairman
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KAMSEN LAU is an Executive Director at Lifestyle International Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-based retail operator that specializes in mid to high-end department stores in Hong Kong. He is also an Executive Director of Lifestyle China Group Limited, a retail and commercial property operator headquartered in Shanghai. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Master of Arts degree from New York University.
His passion in design and in particular, architecture, was seeded from his interest in Hong Kong’s urban development and its inextricable tie to the city’s history and identity. This has been broadened through his personal and professional experience in China and further contextualized in how Hong Kong plays a pivotal role within this larger framework.
Kam Sen Lau
Board Chairman
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KAMSEN LAU is an Executive Director at Lifestyle International Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-based retail operator that specializes in mid to high-end department stores in Hong Kong. He is also an Executive Director of Lifestyle China Group Limited, a retail and commercial property operator headquartered in Shanghai. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and a Master of Arts degree from New York University.
His passion in design and in particular, architecture, was seeded from his interest in Hong Kong’s urban development and its inextricable tie to the city’s history and identity. This has been broadened through his personal and professional experience in China and further contextualized in how Hong Kong plays a pivotal role within this larger framework.
Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director
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MARISA YIU is the Co-founder, Lead Curator/Executive Director of DESIGN TRUST, an initiative of registered charity, the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design. She has been instrumental in leading the growth of the non-for-profit initiatives since 2008; catalysed the grants & fellowships programmes since 2014, conceptualized the “Design Trust Futures Studio” flagship programme 2017 as a design community think-tank on micro-parks in Hong Kong, to heritage and innovation partnerships. Previously, she was the Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/ Architecture located at the West Kowloon waterfront; and curated Studio-X Shenzhen. Yiu is the Founding Partner of ESKYIU (established in 2005), an award winning multi-disciplinary architecture studio. Along with her partner Eric Schuldenfrei, they are the recipients of the ‘Architectural League Prize’ for their installations featured in the Venice Biennale, Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard recognition and Design for Asia Award for Ephemera, commissioned by Swire Art Basel and Movement culture for Ido Portal. Yiu is an active speaker at numerous global platforms including UNESCO forum, Asia Society, BoDW, M+ Museum to Harvard’s AsiaGSD conference. She has taught at London’s Architectural Association, GSAPP Columbia, Parsons, HKU, and CUHK. Yiu is an AIA member, HKIA associate, served on the Board of Advisors for RTHK (seven years full term), formerly a Board member of the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design (2008-2016), where she retired from the board, to lead DESIGN TRUST programmes in HK with its international partners.
Marisa Yiu
Co-Founder, Lead Curator/ Executive Director
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MARISA YIU is the Co-founder, Lead Curator/Executive Director of DESIGN TRUST, an initiative of registered charity, the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design. She has been instrumental in leading the growth of the non-for-profit initiatives since 2008; catalysed the grants & fellowships programmes since 2014, conceptualized the “Design Trust Futures Studio” flagship programme 2017 as a design community think-tank on micro-parks in Hong Kong, to heritage and innovation partnerships. Previously, she was the Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/ Architecture located at the West Kowloon waterfront; and curated Studio-X Shenzhen. Yiu is the Founding Partner of ESKYIU (established in 2005), an award winning multi-disciplinary architecture studio. Along with her partner Eric Schuldenfrei, they are the recipients of the ‘Architectural League Prize’ for their installations featured in the Venice Biennale, Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard recognition and Design for Asia Award for Ephemera, commissioned by Swire Art Basel and Movement culture for Ido Portal. Yiu is an active speaker at numerous global platforms including UNESCO forum, Asia Society, BoDW, M+ Museum to Harvard’s AsiaGSD conference. She has taught at London’s Architectural Association, GSAPP Columbia, Parsons, HKU, and CUHK. Yiu is an AIA member, HKIA associate, served on the Board of Advisors for RTHK (seven years full term), formerly a Board member of the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design (2008-2016), where she retired from the board, to lead DESIGN TRUST programmes in HK with its international partners.
Board Member
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GABRIELA KENNEDY is a partner of Mayer Brown and head of the Asia IP and TMT group. She is also co-leader of Mayer Brown’s global Intellectual Property practice. She is based in Hong Kong, practising intellectual property, media, information technology and telecommunications law. One of the best known intellectual property and technology lawyers in Asia, Gabriela holds various leadership roles in the arts, education and advancement of leadership for women. She served on the board of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival for 7 years and was co-chair of the board for a number of these years. She serves as a mentor for women enrolled in the Leadership Foundation Programme of the International Women's Forum (IWF), on whose global board she sits. Gabriela is a strong advocate of pro-bono work and represents a number of non-profit organisations and charities with a focus on arts organisations, including the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, The Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, and The Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection (AFTEC) to name just a few. A former theoretical linguist, Gabriela speaks English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish.
Gabriela Kennedy
Board Member
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GABRIELA KENNEDY is a partner of Mayer Brown and head of the Asia IP and TMT group. She is also co-leader of Mayer Brown’s global Intellectual Property practice. She is based in Hong Kong, practising intellectual property, media, information technology and telecommunications law. One of the best known intellectual property and technology lawyers in Asia, Gabriela holds various leadership roles in the arts, education and advancement of leadership for women. She served on the board of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival for 7 years and was co-chair of the board for a number of these years. She serves as a mentor for women enrolled in the Leadership Foundation Programme of the International Women's Forum (IWF), on whose global board she sits. Gabriela is a strong advocate of pro-bono work and represents a number of non-profit organisations and charities with a focus on arts organisations, including the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, The Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, and The Absolutely Fabulous Theatre Connection (AFTEC) to name just a few. A former theoretical linguist, Gabriela speaks English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish.
Board Member
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DENISE LAU heads the distribution arm of her family business The B.S.C. Group, and is also the curator of B.S.C.’s lifestyle store COLOURLIVING. With B.S.C. Group’s motto of Enriching Human Space and COLOURLIVING’s passion to bring unique and tasteful designs to customers in Hong Kong, Denise always aspires for new ideas to delight, often drawing inspiration from travelling and benchmarking with other industries. Educated at the LSE, Cass Business School and Inchbald School of Design, Denise began her career in corporate banking at Credit Suisse London before joining the family business in 1992. The B.S.C. Group, founded by Denise’s parents in 1970, is Hong Kong’s leading interior contractor and supplier of interior furnishing and finishing building materials.
Denise Lau
Board Member
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DENISE LAU heads the distribution arm of her family business The B.S.C. Group, and is also the curator of B.S.C.’s lifestyle store COLOURLIVING. With B.S.C. Group’s motto of Enriching Human Space and COLOURLIVING’s passion to bring unique and tasteful designs to customers in Hong Kong, Denise always aspires for new ideas to delight, often drawing inspiration from travelling and benchmarking with other industries. Educated at the LSE, Cass Business School and Inchbald School of Design, Denise began her career in corporate banking at Credit Suisse London before joining the family business in 1992. The B.S.C. Group, founded by Denise’s parents in 1970, is Hong Kong’s leading interior contractor and supplier of interior furnishing and finishing building materials.
Board Member
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IVAN PUN is a Chinese-Burmese entrepreneur and founder of Pun + Projects, a firm focused on creating innovative lifestyle and cultural concepts. Born in Hong Kong, Mr Pun was raised between Hong Kong, Yangon and England, where he was educated at the University of Oxford. After working in New York and Beijing in his early 20s, he relocated to Yangon and started Pun + Projects in 2013. Inspired by a love for architecture and urban history, the firm’s projects include the Burmese beerhall Port Autonomy, arts initiative TS1, and Paribawga, a modern furniture design firm that uses local artisans and materials. As a passionate patron of the arts, Mr Pun is also on the advisory board of Performa, and continues to support South East Asian contemporary artists through TS1’s non-profit art shows and initiatives.
Ivan Pun
Board Member
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IVAN PUN is a Chinese-Burmese entrepreneur and founder of Pun + Projects, a firm focused on creating innovative lifestyle and cultural concepts. Born in Hong Kong, Mr Pun was raised between Hong Kong, Yangon and England, where he was educated at the University of Oxford. After working in New York and Beijing in his early 20s, he relocated to Yangon and started Pun + Projects in 2013. Inspired by a love for architecture and urban history, the firm’s projects include the Burmese beerhall Port Autonomy, arts initiative TS1, and Paribawga, a modern furniture design firm that uses local artisans and materials. As a passionate patron of the arts, Mr Pun is also on the advisory board of Performa, and continues to support South East Asian contemporary artists through TS1’s non-profit art shows and initiatives.
Board Member
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JONATHAN CHEUNG (JC) first became involved with the art world as a collector of contemporary art. Alongside his role as Partner at Art-Bureau, JC is a devoted supporter of art through his global activities with international institutions. He currently sits on the Asia-Pacific Acquisition Committee of Tate and the Council of Serpentine Galleries, where he was originally a founding member of the Asian Council. In Hong Kong and Asia, JC sits on the International Council for Visual Art of M+ Museum, where he is also a founding patron. JC is an executive committee member of the Society of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Additionally, JC is a founding member of the Asia Art Archive Women in Art History Fund, a platform to support research on archives about women in art in Asia.
Jonathan Cheung
Board Member
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JONATHAN CHEUNG (JC) first became involved with the art world as a collector of contemporary art. Alongside his role as Partner at Art-Bureau, JC is a devoted supporter of art through his global activities with international institutions. He currently sits on the Asia-Pacific Acquisition Committee of Tate and the Council of Serpentine Galleries, where he was originally a founding member of the Asian Council. In Hong Kong and Asia, JC sits on the International Council for Visual Art of M+ Museum, where he is also a founding patron. JC is an executive committee member of the Society of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Additionally, JC is a founding member of the Asia Art Archive Women in Art History Fund, a platform to support research on archives about women in art in Asia.