Adrian Zecha was born in Sukabumi, Indonesia into the Lauw-Sim-Adrian Zecha family, part of the Cabang Atas or Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia.
19 Facts About Adrian Zecha
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Adrian Zecha's family is of Peranakan Chinese and Bohemian roots.
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Adrian Zecha is a great-grandson of the late nineteenth-century magnate and mandarin Lauw Tek Lok, the first Luitenant der Chinezen of Bekasi by the latter's controversial interracial marriage to Louisa Zecha, an Indo plantation owner of Bohemian descent.
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Adrian Zecha's father, the plantation owner Aristide William Lauw-Adrian Zecha, was the first native-born Indonesian to graduate from any American university, Iowa University, in 1923.
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Adrian Zecha is a cousin of the Malaysian royal, Che Engku Chesterina.
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In 1956, when President Sukarno nationalised the country's private businesses, many members of the Lauw-Sim-Adrian Zecha family fled to Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United States.
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At the time the 23-year-old Adrian Zecha was in New York, working at Time magazine.
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Between 1956 and 1958, Adrian Zecha worked at the magazine's Tokyo office.
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Adrian Zecha took up a residence in Azabu-Juban and rented a villa in Aburatsubo.
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In 1961, Adrian Zecha launched Asia Magazine, the first regional newspaper colour supplement in Asia.
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In 1970, Adrian Zecha started a new travel and lifestyle magazine named Orientations based in Hong Kong.
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Adrian Zecha 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.
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In 1992, Adrian 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.
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Adrian Zecha soon sold his shares to Lee Hing Development, a Hong Kong property fund which was affiliated with Thadani's Schroder Capital Partners.
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In 2007, Adrian Zecha announced that he had reached an agreement with DLF Ltd, India's largest real estate company, to form a partnership to acquire a controlling interest in Aman Resorts for US$250 million.
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Controversy ensued when Doronin announced that Adrian Zecha was stepping down as CEO and that he would assume the position.
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Adrian Zecha was a partner with Georg Rafael in Rafael Hotels Limited, a company that was sold to Mandarin Oriental Group in May 2000.
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In February 2017, Adrian Zecha began the soft opening for the first hotel under his new Azerai hotel brand which aims to provide more affordable lodging for adventurers and "the younger crowd".
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In 2005 Adrian Zecha was awarded the Innovation Award at the 16th annual Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific.