Chief People & Culture Officer, Mandarin Oriental 'People and brands are inseparable'

In late 2024, Group Chief Executive Laurent Kleitman set out a ten-year strategy to double the size of the portfolio, with growth targeted at the Middle East, Japan, North America and Europe's capital cities.

Much of the job of keeping the culture intact through that growth sits with ShaoWei Ong.

She joined as Chief People & Culture Officer in March 2025, reports to the Group Chief Executive and is based at the Hong Kong head office.

She has more than two decades of HR leadership experience across hospitality, banking, fintech, music and engineering.

Before Mandarin Oriental she was Group HR Director at Jardines, Jardine Schindler and Livi Bank, VP of HR for Sony Music Group across Asia and the Middle East, and Head of Starwood Academy Asia Pacific.

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We asked her about everything from AI and leadership to global talent and the principles guiding her approach.

AI is becoming a major priority for HR leaders. How is Mandarin Oriental preparing its workforce for the opportunities and challenges presented by AI, and what role is HR playing in that transformation?

As we expand globally, one of the questions we ask ourselves is: how do we scale our technology without diluting our culture, service standards, and brand identity?

The opportunity with AI is not to replace the human connection, but to give our colleagues more time and better tools so they can focus on our guests. For example, we are exploring areas such as AI-enabled learning, multilingual content and digital knowledge-sharing, alongside tools that can reduce time spent on administrative tasks and elevate personalised guest experiences.

HR has an important role to play in that transformation. We need to build digital confidence, help the organisation rethink how work is done and ensure AI is adopted responsibly. Ultimately, we see AI as an enabler of growth and productivity, while keeping people at the heart of hospitality.

Leadership expectations are evolving rapidly. What capabilities do you believe leaders need to develop today to remain effective in an increasingly complex and technology-driven environment?

Leadership today is less about command and control and more about creating clarity, capability and confidence in times of uncertainty and change. Leaders need to be digitally fluent, comfortable with data and able to navigate ambiguity. But as technology accelerates, empathy, curiosity, humility, judgement and the ability to build trust will increasingly differentiate the best leaders.

Agility is equally important. Leaders cannot rely solely on what has worked in the past; they need to keep learning, ask the right questions and create an environment where their teams can adapt and grow. They need to build high-performing teams with the right mix of skills, digital literacy and perspectives. The question is no longer simply, 'Do I have enough people?' but 'Do I have the right capabilities, and are my people equipped to use technology effectively?'