Michael Wu is the chairman and managing director of food and beverage business Maxim’s Group, which boasts more than 1,000 outlets across Hong Kong, mainland China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. The company was established in 1956 by brothers ST and James Wu with a single restaurant. The former was its long-term managing director before standing down in 2000, when Michael, his grandson, took over aged just 29, having previously served as the company’s chief financial officer.

Wu has led an ambitious expansion of the group, moving it beyond its established line-up of Chinese restaurants and into areas including western casual dining, coffee shops and bakeries, with brands including Starbucks, The Cheesecake Factory and Shake Shack. He is also a director of Hang Seng Bank, Hongkong Land and Jardine Matheson, as well as of the Community Chest of Hong Kong.

Michael Wu is married to Katie Lo-Wu, the granddaughter of Great Eagle Group founder Lo Ying-shek; the couple have three children.