In 2005, the World Economic Forum elected Georges Kern to a five-year term on the Forum of Young Global Leaders, a community of bold, brave, entrepreneurial people aged under 40 at the time of their appointment who are pushing boundaries and rethinking the world around them. “Those years were among the most interesting years of my life because I was part of a unique community of high achievers, mixing with the founders of Google and Wikipedia, which was very inspirational,” says Kern. Now an alumnus, he continues to draw inspiration from the brilliant and talented young people he meets.

“What I learnt at the World Economic Forum is that young people try to make our world a better place. They are all engaged in something beyond business. They want to have an influence and they want to improve the state of the world, whether in terms of the environment, education or creativity,” says Kern. “When you talk to them, they don’t see things as impossible. They have the confidence and capability to find common-sense answers to big issues. When you look at the state of our planet today, it is alarming. Hopefully the next generation will be able to fix what we weren’t able to fix, to solve what we couldn’t solve.”

“Respect your elders” is a mantra often bandied around, but Kern has long seen things differently. In his days as a student at business school in Switzerland, he was initially impressed by the corporate executives who would come and speak to his class. “I’d think, ‘Wow, look at this guy.’ But the more I grew in business, the more I met these corporate people and the less impressed I became. At the end of the day I’ve always been more impressed by young people. I get so much from meeting the dynamic minds building their businesses or foundations from scratch.”

"Young people try to make our world a better place. They are all engaged in something beyond business. They want to have an influence and they want to improve the state of the world, whether in terms of the environment, education or creativity."—Georges Kern, IWC

Under Kern’s leadership, IWC Schaffhausen has become a staunch supporter of young talents, particularly in the film industry. Its brand ambassadors include the crème de la crème of the acting community, including Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Rosamund Pike and Zhou Xun, and the brand regularly makes grants to independent filmmakers to produce thought-provoking tatler_stories on the silver screen. “We focus on giving really creative people in cinema a voice in order to foster the local storytelling,” says Kern. “We reward young scriptwriters, directors and producers at leading film festivals, like Beijing, Singapore, Tribeca, London, Zurich and Dubai, with the IWC Filmmaker Award and US$100,000.”

Aligning IWC Schaffhausen with Generation T, then, was a natural step for the brand, says Kern. “It is absolutely key to acknowledge the passion, innovation and achievement of young talents in order to inspire and further nurture the future of Hong Kong.”

From the 100 young achievers on Hong Kong Tatler’s Gen T list, IWC has identified five “outstanding characters with strong values” with whom the brand plans to develop a sustainable relationship. There are some truly exciting collaborations in store. Click through the list below to discover the names of these five impressive individuals.

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Vicky Lau

Founder and head chef, Tate
Vicky wears an IWC Portofino Automatic Day & Night 37
For her profile, click here

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Arthur de Villepin

Founder, Art deVivre 
Arthur wears an IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Day & Date
For his profile, click here

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Sean Lee-Davies

Artist, activist, entrepreneur, filmmaker
Sean wears an IWC Portugieser Automatic.
For his profile, click here

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Kevin Ma

Founder, Hypebeast
Kevin wears an IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun
For his profile, click here

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Joyce Wang

Founder of award-winning interior design practice Wang
 Joyce wears an IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36
For her profile, click here

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Generation T: The Full List

Click here for the full list 

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