Early in his career, Cheng was a banker at Goldman Sachs and UBS. Following a two-year stint at UBS AG, in 2006, Cheng joined the family business, the private Chow Tai Fook Holdings empire. He became executive director of the listed Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group.
New World Development
In March 2007, Cheng became the executive director and a board member at New World Development, a Hong Kong-listed company which is the biggest part of Chow Tai Fook Holdings. In 2012, he became joint general manager of New World Development and he also became executive vice-chairman in 2015.
K11 brand
Cheng introduced the concept of "museum-retail" by founding the K11 brand in 2008. Cheng's first K11 museum-retail mall opened in Tsim Sha Tsui in 2009, and later a branch was opened in Shanghai. K11 museum-retail shopping centers currently have branches in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan.
He founded the K11 Art Foundation in 2010, a vehicle for art promotion within the malls, serving as a platform for Chinese artists and their works. He initiated collaborations between the foundation and international museums and art institutions such as Palais de Tokyo in Paris and Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, showcasing Chinese artists. The foundation also has an art village in Wuhan. Cheng has been included in the ArtReview Power100, ranking 100 in 2014, 76 in 2015, and 46 in 2017.
Recent developments
In 2017, Cheng led the Victoria Dockside redevelopment on land held by New World since the 1970s, at a cost of $2.6 billion. In June 2019, he was named the "first global ambassador" of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Cheng presided over the announcement of New World in September 2019 that it would be donating 3 million square feet of agricultural land to the government for public housing and related facilities, to NGOs and to charities to develop social or transitional housing. Up to a third of the land was to be donated to an affordable social housing project. In October 2019, he became executive director of NWS Holdings, New World Development's infrastructure arm. On February 13, 2020, Cheng was named the executive chair of the New World subsidiary New World China Land, while keeping his role as executive vice-chairman at New World Development. As of 2020, he runs two private Hong Kong investment ventures: C Ventures and K11 Investment. Leaving his position as general manager, he was promoted to CEO of New World Development in May 2020.
Boards and committees
He is on the boards of companies such as New World Development, Giordano International, Centennial Success, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Broad Park, and New Century Healthcare Holding Company, among others. He is chairman of the China Young Leaders Foundation.
Cheng is married to Jennifer Yu. He is known as a collector of contemporary art.
Philanthropy
In January 2020, Cheng launched "Activating Change in a New World Order", a sustainability forum organized through Cheng's non-profit organizations Culture for Tomorrow and K11 Art Foundation. In April 2020, during the Coronavirus disease pandemic, Cheng revealed announced plans to share millions of surgical face masks free of charge using 35 specially built vending machines placed around Hong Kong. He said: "It is heart-breaking to see so many people suffer because they simply cannot afford or get a hold of masks, which have become so costly and scarce." Cheng also donated medical masks valued at US$2.1 million to China and 2.5 million medical face masks to South Korea, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
