Last week I attended a memorial for Daniel Ng, the
entrepreneur who brought McDonald's to Hong Kong. He had a PhD in chemical
engineering and worked first in the US (and I understand he had a patent for a
fuel cell for pacemakers), and then at 35 years of age in 1972 moved back to
Hong Kong to work with a venture capital fund. In 1974 he went back to Chicago
for a year to learn the McDonald’s system, before opening his first restaurant
in Hong Kong in 1975. He had a 20 year franchise and was extraordinarily
successful, so that when McDonald’s exercised its option to buy back the
franchise, he was very wealthy. He ran the company so well, and kept McDonald’s
prices so low, that no other hamburger chain has ever had much success in HK. It
was he who suggested the "Big Mac Index" to
the Economist.
I knew him because he was the primary supporter of AFS Hong
Kong, and was the chairman of the board, on which I am a member. The success of
McDonald’s in HK was due to many factors, but top among them were: 1) his deep
understanding of branding (he also created a logo and brand image for AFS
worldwide); 2) his sense of humor and love of fun (he liked McD because it sold
fun); and 3) his belief in persistence and determination. Apparently he loved a
quotation from Calvin
Coolidge to this effect, but while Coolidge said talent, genius and
education were not enough, Daniel had all those characteristics PLUS
persistence!
Daniel was quirky. One friend described him as “weird,”
even. But he was genuine. He was gentle, and not abrasive, but decisive. Often
he got his point across with humor. Whether due to intelligence, experience, or
a well developed “executive function” in the brain, he was very decisive. He
was completely bi-lingual and bi-cultural, with native English and Cantonese.
He was also apparently notorious among his friends for only buying second-hand
cars, and not spending a lot of money on clothes (those who know me will see
why I feel a connection with him).
He was passionate about many things. He was a strong
supporter of music, and commissioned a number of works to promote young
composers. He was a strong supporter of the Ronald McDonald House and had
been working in the past few years to make sure that a second house would be
opened with the new specialty pediatric hospital on Kai Tak. And he was a
strong believer in intercultural understanding. He wanted Hong Kong youth to be
more cosmopolitan by going overseas on exchanges, and by meeting exchange
students who come to Hong Kong for a year. He did not suffer fools, and he thought
a particular horse-related charity in Hong Kong was being very narrow-minded
when they decided only to sponsor outgoing Hong Kong students and not incoming
foreign students (they claimed they only wanted to support Hong Kong students,
as if Hong Kong students don’t benefit from having an exchange student in their
midst).
Daniel died on August 23rd of cancer at age 76, which is
still young by today’s standards. As his children’s statement put it, He had
been ill for some time, but never wanted to let anyone know, choosing as always
to focus on living. he had a formidable spirit, insatiable curiosity and zest
for life that served him well even at the end.” His memorial was attended by
probably over 400 persons, and it was by invitation only, or it would have been
many, many more. Everyone had humorous stories to tell. Former employees and
colleagues were very grateful for his mentoring and guidance.
There
is one image of Daniel that captures his youthful spirit for me. Years ago,
shortly after the iPhone first came out, he already had one. He also had
several apps, and he had a blast showing them off. He had the “lighter app”
that would allow you to hold up a “lighter” at a rock concert, and he had the “beer app,”
which appears to fill the iPhone screen with beer, and then allows you to “drink”
the beer as you tilt the iPhone to your mouth. He loved to laugh. Almost every
picture you will find of Daniel has him smiling broadly or laughing. He was truly
an impressive figure.
