LEADERSHIP

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Mr Kwan has been involved in the resort industry for his entire 35-year career in all aspects of the business including planning, design, development, operations, sales & marketing, financing, acquisitions and divestment for a wide range of resort developments internationally.

Mr Kwan was a partner with the Belt Collins Group from 1994 to 1997, the largest resort planning consultancy in the Pacific Rim, establishing a specialty development strategy division providing advisory services to premier resort clients and municipalities throughout the region including Kerry Properties, CDL Properties, and Gold Coast City Council. In 1997 Mr Kwan joined Intrawest Corporation, North America’s leading developer of destination resorts based in Vancouver, Canada and owner of Whistler, the #1 resort in North America. He was one of only a select few senior executives to work within the company’s corporate, real estate, and operations groups and across its mountain and beach resorts (including the 2,400 acre Sandestin Resort in Florida). He was integrally involved in the acquisition of Abercrombie & Kent the leading luxury travel operator worldwide, that in the first year following acquisition delivered incremental revenue of $257M and net profit of $20.4M. In 2006 Intrawest was privatized for $2.8 billion.

In 2007 Mr Kwan formed a partnership with Mr Lawrence Ho and his Melco International group of Hong Kong and established Melco’s resort real estate development subsidiary as its Chief Executive Officer headquartered in Beijing. By 2009 Melco was the largest integrated resort developer in China with five properties and over 5,000 employees. He developed the first Club Med resort operating in China, and was awarded by both TIME Magazine and the China Entrepreneur’s Forum for his redevelopment projects in the country. In 2010 Mr Kwan refinanced Melco’s development company and established Character Capital Inc. as its Managing Principal.

In 2010 Mr Kwan formed his merchant bank that has undertaken investment and development of properties in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean. He leads the portfolio activities for Hallō Properties in British Columbia, developing three exceptional boutique properties including Canada's first Troon golf course. Internationally Mr Kwan led a multi-resort joint venture in the Republic of Georgia with the BGR Group, the leading lobbyist group in Washington DC. He is development principal for a Luxembourg registered private equity real estate fund. He was previously Special Advisor, Real Estate to Cascadia Capital LLC, the largest boutique investment bank in the Pacific North West USA. 

His extensive industry network allows him to form development specific teams organized in a manner that promotes best-in-class engagement, processes, and management. Mr Kwan obtained his Series 79 and Series 63 Securities license with FINRA/SEC in 2014. Through his career he has directly integrated capital to his hospitality projects from HNW and family offices, private equity, private and institutional lenders, as well as international banks. Mr Kwan has been a guest speaker at many international conferences and interviewed by The Huron Report, The Robb Report, CNN, Forbes, and Bloomberg.