Aron Harilela is the chairman and CEO of the Harilela Group of companies, which owns hotels on three continents and operates several of its own.

Harilela led the company into hotel management for the first time with The Hari in London in 2016, and then followed it up with a Hong Kong edition in 2020; the latter was recognised as the Best Upscale Hotel at the prestigious HD Awards less than a year after it launched.

The Harilela family has called Hong Kong home for five generations, working variously as antiques dealers and tailors before moving into property in the 1950s and then into hotels when Aron’s father Hari opened Kowloon’s Holiday Inn Golden Mile in 1975. These days, the company owns hotels around the world, including five Holiday Inns throughout Asia, the InterContinental Grand Stanford in Hong Kong, 50 Bowery in New York City, and the Grand Coloane Resort in Macau.

The former chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Harilela has a Bronze Bauhinia Star and is a JP. He is married to Laura, with whom he has two children. Outside work, he is perhaps best known as one of Hong Kong’s leading polo fanatics.