In July 2022, Gary Liu embarked on his new role as founder and CEO of Artifact Labs, a blockchain and NFT company created by South China Morning Post where he was CEO for five-and-a-half years. The Post is more than 100 years old and Hong Kong’s leading English language newspaper, and the latter half of his time as CEO was one of the toughest periods in the paper’s history, with the social unrest of 2019 immediately followed by the outbreak of the pandemic, which took root in Hong Kong before much of the rest of the world.

“There’ve been very, very tough moments: difficult days where we see colleagues really struggle, not only with what’s happening in their home city, but also with the stress and the complication of their jobs,” says Liu.

It’s this sort of empathy that kept the American pushing for change and innovation at the newspaper. Brought in to lead the company’s digital transformation in 2017, Liu has overseen the overhaul of the website, the creation of new online platforms, and the evolution and diversification of the company’s business models and revenue streams. It’s an attitude that has seen the brand through even the recent struggles.

“The thing that I’m most proud of about the Post is that, through crisis, this organisation has actually strengthened: strengthened its convictions, strengthened its product, strengthened its connection to and understanding of our global audience, and strengthened its reputation and credibility,” he says. “Many of our global media peers have been weakened by the pandemic. And we have come out on the other side, I believe, as a better news organisation.” 

Of his new role, Liu says that “blockchain holds great potential for the media industry and SCMP is committed to leading in technological innovation and new business development”.

Gary, an economics graduate from Harvard, is married to Katrina, a paediatric dentist.