When the Hong Kong government was looking for someone to head its new HK$60m funding pot for largescale arts events, aiming to reestablish the city as a cultural hub, Cheng was an obvious pick to chair the committee. While the founder of K11 Group combines art and commerce through a series of mall-based galleries across Hong Kong and mainland China (bringing in Jeffrey Deitch to curate a street-art show; partnering with the British Council on a Phyllida Barlow installation) – including the in-development US$1.4bn K11 Ecoast complex in Shenzhen – Cheng has international reach. He sponsors residencies at the Royal Academy, leads fundraising for M+ as chair of its Gala Board and operates an online exchange programme with the Mori Art Museum, among numerous museum trusteeships. Full disclosure: K11 also organises a Wuhan-based artist residency in partnership with ArtReview, and Cheng took on a cochair role at the magazine’s parent company, Meta Media, in February, but resigned in October (he continues as Meta Media’s art consultant).