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Kwek Leng Beng has been the Chairman of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc since its incorporation. He is the Executive Chairman of the Hong Leong Group of Companies Singapore, and also City Developments Limited and Hong Leong Finance Limited. Mr Kwek's achievements have also captured the attention of the academic institutions. He was conferred:Doctorate of Business Administration in Hospitality from Johnson & Wales University (Rhode Island, US), where students have an opportunity to pursue career education in business, hospitality, culinary arts or technology.Honorary Doctorate (DUniv) from Oxford Brookes University (UK) where its citation traced how Mr Kwek, who joined the family business in the early 1960s, had gone on to establish an international reputation for his leadership of the Hong Leong Group, as well as an active supporter of higher education in Singapore.His other involvement in the institutions of higher learning includes serving on the Advisory Board of the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management. The Institute is a collaboration between Ivy League member Cornell University in New York City and Singapore' Nanyang Technological University. Cornell is renowned for its hotel school which is a leader in teaching, research and industry partnerships.Mr Kwek also serves as a Member of the INSEAD East Asia Council. France-based INSEAD is one of the world' leading and largest graduate business schools which brings together people, cultures and ideas from around the world. He is a Member of the Action Community of Entrepreneurship (ACE), which involves both the private and public sectors to create a more entrepreneurial environment in Singapore for small and medium enterprises. Mr Kwek has distinguished himself in property investment and development, hotel ownership and management, financial services and industrial enterprises. Today, he sits on the flagship of a multi-billion empire worth over US$20 billion in diversified premium assets worldwide, with an annual turnover of US$4.55 billion and stocks traded on seven of the world' stock markets. He currently heads world-wide staff strength of over 40,000 across a range of businesses in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and North America. This fortune is set to expand further with his recent success in collaborating with the Las Vegas Sands Corporation in the bid for Singapore' high profile Integrated Resort project at the Marina Bay. The Hong Leong flagship of Mr Kwek is a household name in Southeast Asia. Asia Money' latest issue (September 2006), included Mr Kwek in its augural list of 100 Most Powerful and Influential People in Business and Finance throughout Asia Pacific. | 