Putting Friendship First
Putting Friendship First
The Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program is world-renowned for the opportunities it offers its students and alumni to develop a global network of like-minded high achievers. But what is probably still worth underlining is how much deeper the connections can go, far beyond the swapping of business cards and promises to keep in touch.
This year, ten years after they graduated in the same KH EMBA cohort, Wai Tang and Ricky Lau have gone into business with the launch of Crane Capital. Wai has taken on the role of Managing Partner and CEO, and Ricky that of Managing Partner, in a company that invests and develops real estate businesses in Asia’s leading cities, exclusively for a US pension fund.
“Crane Capital is basically the Asia arm of their real estate investment vehicle,” Wai explains. “But we’re not just buying real estate – in each city we’re first finding the people to build a company which will specialise in one real estate sector.”
Prior to their collaboration, both Wai and Ricky built up highly impressive track records in the world of finance. “I’ve known only real estate in my entire career, and Ricky knows about everything else except real estate,” Wai says.
Though they already have US$650 million and 65 assets under management, the pair were initially hesitant about working together. This wasn’t, first and foremost, because of any commercial risks involved, however.
On the program, Wai and Ricky were part of the same study group of seven and got to know each other well. “I enjoyed hanging out with and talking to Ricky,” Wai recalls. “Later on we moved to the same complex in Hong Kong and became neighbours. Our families know each other, our children play together, and we have even been on vacation together.”
So, as Ricky explains, it wasn’t surprising that they often talked about collaborating if the right opportunity presented itself. However, these conversations were rarely that serious. “It does take a lot for friends to go into business together, as the friendship will evolve, and ours has evolved. We talked about the risk of losing a friend if a business doesn’t work out.”
But given the nature of this particular opportunity, their recognition of the way in which their skills complement each others, and their bond of trust, they decided the risk was worth taking.
Ricky describes Wai Tang as more extrovert and entrepreneurial than him, someone who is really good at getting talent and partners working as a team. “I am more of an organizational, institutional sort of person, having spent 20 years in top-tier private equity firm,” he says. “He is more intuitive in terms of decision-making, while I am more methodical, making sure we cover all the angles from a company development perspective.”
They do share important similarities, though, he adds. “We come from similar working-class backgrounds, from families who had to work for a living, and we don’t mind getting our hands dirty.”
Wai says he sees himself as one of the greatest beneficiaries of the KH EMBA, as not only did he meet his business partner in the course of the program, his fellow alumni have also met a range of his commercial needs through their expertise in everything from telecom and insurance, to marketing and office landscaping.
He believes that the live-in element of the program is key to building these sort of relationships. “This, and working on projects together, creates a real bond.”
