Steven Pan thrives during crises. His company, SHG (formerly Formosa International Hotels), has found ways to expand dramatically during times of economic trouble: During the SARS outbreak of 2003, he acquired Domino’s Pizza operations in Taiwan, and as a result of the 2008 financial crisis, he was able to buy the distressed Regent brand and management rights of its seven hotels.

Previously, the company only owned one hotel, the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei, which Pan’s father SR Pan opened in 1990. SHG now operates a joint venture with InterContinental Hotels Group, responsible for relaunching the Regent brand worldwide and restoring it to its former glory. Pan seized the opportunity to grow the Regent brand not by building new hotels but taking over existing high-end ones, like the iconic Regent Hong Kong, which had been renamed the InterContinental Hong Kong since 2001. Closed for renovations in 2020, it will reopen once more as the Regent Hong in March 2023.