Both sides of my family have lived in Hong Kong for several generations, with my children being the fourth generation born here. I have an 89-year-old grandmother who lives in Repulse Bay and now has 13 great-grandchildren aged one to ten, all living in Hong Kong. My parents met when my mother was 17 and married the day after her 19th birthday. They had their wedding at The Verandah in Repulse Bay, where my husband and I also got married.

Everyone is welcome

I feel extremely lucky to have grown up in Hong Kong, and that’s why we made the decision to stay and raise our children here. I grew up not thinking about the color of someone’s skin or religion due to the open-mindedness of the home and society I grew up in. We had to choose to what extent we looked to our Hindu roots or our Christian roots; When we were kids, we celebrated Diwali, Christmas and Chinese New Year. It is a privilege to grow up in a multicultural society and it allows me to exercise my job as a hotelier very naturally with people from all over the world.

Friends forever

As a child I was obsessed with Enid Blyton books like Malory Towers And The twins at St Clare’sso it was exciting for me to transfer to Wycombe Abbey, an all-girls boarding school in the UK. I went there with my head full of images of lacrosse and midnight parties, and that was my reality from the age of 11 until I arrived at Bristol University. I met my six best friends at residential school and we are still close 35 years later. Having long-term relationships is important to me and my family. I saw how my mother, who is a role model to me, took care of her relationships and friendships, and I saw the positive effects that came from that.

Choose a path

I worked in catering when I was at boarding school, from the age of 14, as a friend’s mother owned a catering business in Henley (England). My first official job was when I was 16, at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, in the catering department, which is not my strong point. Traditionally, in hotels, you choose a path; rooms or F&B. I walked the path to the rooms.