Adrian Zecha

Zecha began his career in hospitality in the 1960s and was involved in the early development of Regent International Hotels in partnership with Four Seasons Hotels. He later co-founded GHM (Global Hotel Management), a company that operated luxury properties in Asia and beyond. In 1988, Zecha founded Aman Resorts, opening the first property, Amanpuri, in Phuket, Thailand. The brand became known for its low-density, design-focused luxury hotels and played a significant role in shaping the high-end resort market in Asia and later globally. == Personal life and education ==

Zecha was born in 1933 in Sukabumi, in what was then the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He attended school in Jakarta before going on to study at Phillips Academy and later at Oxford University, where he read English literature. ==Family background==

Zecha was born in Sukabumi, Indonesia into the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family, part of the Cabang Atas or Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia. On being widowed, Louisa Zecha went on to marry another Chinese magnate, Sim Keng Koen, the first Kapitein der Chinezen of Sukabumi, where her great-grandson Adrian Lauw Zecha was born. The connection with America continued with Zecha and his four brothers, who were all educated in the United States. Zecha is also a cousin of the Malaysian royal, Che Engku Chesterina (née Sim-Zecha). His brother, Austen Zecha, was the founder of TBWA-ISC Group, an agency that is credited with the award-winning “Malaysia Truly Asia” campaign for Tourism Malaysia in 1999. Another brother, Alwin Zecha, was the founder and executive chairman of the Pacific Leisure Group, a destination management company with offices in 38 countries worldwide, and also served as a board member and Chairman for numerous other organizations, including PATA. ==Early life and career==

Zecha attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. In 1961, Zecha launched Asia Magazine, the first regional newspaper colour supplement in Asia. When the magazine faltered a year later, Rupert Murdoch was persuaded by Zecha to invest in the magazine (in what was his first Asian investment). The magazine was a part of English speaking families until 1998. It was held above water for its last ten years by Giro Semba and Olav Mueller-Uri until it finally closed in 1998. In 1970, Zecha started a new travel and lifestyle magazine named Orientations based in Hong Kong. With the advent of in-flight magazines, Orientations dropped its travel content and progressed over the years to become a publication focused on the arts of East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Himalayas. It is now the leading magazine in this field and its contributors are renowned scholars and researchers from around the world. ==Hotels==

Zecha's first experience of the hotel business was when a friend asked him to help the Marriott Hotel chain broker land deals in Asia. This experience led to Zecha joining with Robert Burns and Georg Rafael in 1972 to found Regent International Hotels, which was one of Asia's first luxury hotel groups. The trio built 12 hotels before Zecha sold his 30% stake for $30 million in 1986. He then moved into real estate speculation, forming an investment fund that, among other deals, bought Bangkok's Regent Hotel and London's Dorchester Hotel before eventually selling them. Plans to build a home on a site soon developed into an idea to build a small boutique resort in partnership with longtime friend Anil Thadani. The two spent mainly their own money as no banks would lend for the project due to the small number of planned rooms, instead of the 500-room hotel they thought would be more practical. Amanpuri opened in January 1988 at a cost of US$4 million with only 40 rooms. Its success, followed by that of Amandari in Bali, confirmed to Zecha the viability of a chain of minimalist boutique resorts in remote, natural settings. In 1992, Zecha sold a controlling interest in Silverlink, the holding company which owned Aman Resorts, to Clement Vaturi, an old friend whose family owned the Hoteliere Immobliere chain of French hotels. Zecha was left with only 45% of the share holdings. The arrangement was satisfactory to both parties until Vaturi's controlling interest effectively came under the control of Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, a real estate investment fund. A lawsuit between Vaturi and Colony Capital promised to drag on, putting Zecha's plans to expand the number of Aman resorts on hold. Dispirited, and by now owning only 45% of Silverlink's shares, he resigned from his position as CEO in 1998. The ruling, however, was limited, as it returned Zecha to his role for only 17 days. Olivier Jolivet, a longtime Aman executive, was appointed to the role which he held until February 2017. In addition to his history at Aman Resorts, Zecha also chairman and director of General Hotel Management Ltd (GHM), a developer and manager of luxury hotels and resorts. Zecha was also a partner with Georg Rafael in Rafael Hotels Limited, a company that was sold to Mandarin Oriental Group in May 2000. This was followed in 2020 by a venture with Naru Developments to launch Azumi, a ryokan-inspired hotel brand based in Japan. ==Awards==

In 2005 Adrian Zecha was awarded the Innovation Award at the 16th annual Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP). In 2010 Adrian Zecha was awarded the 2010 Travel & Leisure Design Champion Award. The celebration was held at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. In 2011, he was awarded an award for lifetime achievement during the International Luxury Travel Market event in Shanghai. In 2018, he received the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Lifetime Achievement Award. ==References==