Meet the panellists of the 2024 Cathay Members’ Choice Awards
The 2024 Cathay Members’ Choice Awards are just around the corner. With 30 accolades across six categories, we’re championing the top cities, hotels, restaurants and lifestyle encounters in the world and, of course, our beloved home city of Hong Kong – as voted by you, our global community of members. You’ve been there and done it all, and we want to hear about the experiences that truly moved you.
This year’s nominees were carefully chosen by a panel of industry experts, journalists and editors, as well as a select list of Cathay Diamond members. Get to know our panellists before voting opens to all members on 29 July.
Not a member yet? Remember to sign up and have your say.
Jeremy Bek
Industry expert
Jeremy is the General Manager, Global Head at Rakuten Travel, Japan’s largest online travel agency. He is responsible for the global expansion of the agency’s business and growth of the international customer base. An industry veteran with more than 20 years’ experience, he previously held senior regional positions at Expedia, Skyscanner and Resorts World Sentosa (Universal Studios Singapore), and was instrumental in growing their presence across the Asia-Pacific.
Edward Bell
Cathay insider
As Cathay’s General Manager Brand, Insights and Marketing Communications, Edward oversees all aspects of demand generation and conversion for the Cathay brands globally. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Edward has lived between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland for more than 20 years with previous roles with Adidas, WPP and IPG marketing consultancies. His golden rule? If it is not world-class, it is not good enough.
Dr Brian Chan
Cathay Diamond member
Achieving a healthy work-life balance is Brian’s key to happiness. On weekends, the Cathay Diamond member flies to attend conferences and workshops across Asia, but not before getting a relaxing foot massage and a glass of rosé champagne at The Pier, First. For Brian, stepping on board a Cathay Pacific plane at the beginning or end of each journey always feels familiar and comfortable – just like home.
Frank Cheng
Industry expert
Frank has always been curious about the world and has travelled to around 50 countries to date, living in Los Angeles, Taipei, Cairo, San Francisco and New York before landing in Hong Kong. He is currently Senior Business Director, Asia for the Hong Kong-based programmatic advertising agency Crimtan. Previously, he worked at the intersection of hospitality, advertising and travel, managing airline and hotel partnerships at KAYAK.com and Sojern. When Frank is not working, he's busy roaming around Hong Kong, trying new restaurants and bars with friends – or in another country, doing the same.
Estyn Chung
Industry expert
Estyn is the General Manager of Uber for Hong Kong, overseeing local operations and growing the business within the city. He led the launch of Uber Taxi in Hong Kong and the acquisition of HK Taxi to build what is now the top Uber Taxi platform globally. Estyn hopes to reinvigorate the industry by providing more income opportunities for drivers and bringing a better experience to Hongkongers.
Kee Foong
Travel writer
Freelance travel, food and lifestyle writer Kee blames his parents for his wanderlust and love of eating – passions that he fashioned into a career. His work has appeared in Travel + Leisure Asia, the South China Morning Post and Signature Luxury Travel & Style. He is also an academy chair for The World’s 50 Best Hotels.
Divia Harilela
Cathay Diamond member
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Divia has worked in lifestyle and fashion media for over 20 years. The Cathay Diamond member previously served as the Fashion Editor for the South China Morning Post, where she remains a Contributing Editor. She has also written for The Business of Fashion, Vogue China and Departures. In 2011, Divia founded her own consultancy, The D’Vine, offering content creation and strategy for clients in the luxury sector as well as educational and governmental organisations.
Sébastien Hue
Cathay insider
Sébastien joined Cathay in 2023 to look after the Cathay Membership Programme with a significant focus on our Cathay Diamond members. He has spent more than 10 years working in customer experience, including in the hospitality industry, and is proud to be part of a team that cares deeply about the service we bring to our valued members. Beyond Cathay, Sébastien is an avid traveller who aims to visit half the sites on the Unesco World Heritage list.
Prudence Lau
Cathay insider
Prudence has expertise in branding, public relations, loyalty programmes and marketing. Her passion for working with beloved brands led her to join Cathay, where she currently looks after 11 million members globally as Head of Cathay Membership. Prudence focuses on growing the Cathay membership programme by developing new member acquisition, engagement and retention strategies. In her free time, Prudence loves to travel and discover authentic dishes from diverse cuisines.
Ian Law
Industry expert
Ian is the General Manager for GNC and New Business at Mannings Hong Kong and Macau, part of the DFI Retail Group. True to the purpose of health and wellness brand GNC, Ian is passionate about empowering people to live well through a science-based approach. Outside of work, he can most likely be found enjoying Hong Kong's beautiful natural scenery or on a short getaway somewhere in Asia.
Jeninne Lee-St. John
Travel editor
Jeninne is Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia’s Editor-in-Chief. She’s especially interested in food with a good backstory, new ways to define luxury, regenerative travel, wellness and weird wine. She worked at Time in New York and London, and she holds a master’s from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s from Williams College. Born in Washington DC, she has lived in Southeast Asia since 2009 and is currently based in Bangkok.
Lilit Marcus
Travel producer
Lilit is a Travel Producer for CNN Digital Worldwide. Based in Hong Kong, she is responsible for editing and reporting on travel news and trends in the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining CNN in 2017, she was a senior contributing writer at Condé Nast Traveler in New York City. Her freelance writing has appeared in Vogue, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Elle and Buzzfeed. Lilit is also the author of Save the Assistants: A Guide for Surviving and Thriving in the Workplace (2010).
Zoe Qu
Travel editor
Zoe is Editor-in-Chief of Voyage, a travel and lifestyle-focused subsidiary of China's top financial media group, SEEC. She is a seasoned travel journalist who has visited more than 80 countries and regions, and accumulated a wealth of experience across destinations, luxury hotels, airlines, cruises and other aspects of travel.
Paul Smitton
Cathay insider
Paul has worked in loyalty for over 20 years in different parts of the world. He joined the Cathay Pacific Group as Asia Miles CEO in 2018 before becoming General Manager Customer Relationship and Retail in 2020. Currently, as Cathay Director Customer Lifestyle, he oversees our transformation into a premium lifestyle brand, setting our strategic direction, executing travel lifestyle initiatives and growing customer relationships.
Adam White
Travel editor
Adam is Content Director at Cedar Hong Kong, where he is in charge of content for Cathay. He’s a seasoned travel and lifestyle writer and editor. He ran city living bible HK Magazine, edited the Wallpaper* guide to Hong Kong, and has written for TIME, Monocle, CNN and The Guardian. He was awarded Editor of the Year at the International Content Marketing Awards 2023. He’s happiest at about 11pm in any given city, stumbling across another great bar.
- China – the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan Region
- Hong Kong SAR - English
- Chinese Mainland (China) - English
- Taiwan, China - English
- 香港特別行政區 - 繁體中文
- 中国內地 - 简体中文
- 中國台灣 - 繁體中文
- Africa
- South Africa - English
- Asia
- Bangladesh - English
- Korea - English
- Singapore - English
- Cambodia - English
- 한국 - 한국어
- Sri Lanka - English
- India - English
- Malaysia - English
- Thailand - English
- Indonesia - English
- Maldives - English
- ประเทศไทย - ภาษาไทย
- Indonesia - Bahasa Indonesia
- Myanmar - English
- Vietnam - English
- Japan - English
- Nepal - English
- Việt Nam - tiếng Việt
- 日本 - 日本語
- Philippines - English
- Australasia
- Australia - English
- New Zealand - English