Hong Kong businessman and lawyer Brandon Chau manages to juggle a demanding schedule

Brandon Chau is a man of many faces. His most recent entrepreneurial venture is Attire House, a bespoke menswear concept business. This is in addition to his earlier enterprise, Noblesse Group, a luxury bedding and lifestyle company where he presides as chairman.

A martial artist, philanthropist, and socialite, Chau started out as a barrister and still practises in the chambers of Cheng Huan SC.

“As an entrepreneur, it is quite easy to spend all of your time in the business and still feel it’s not enough. And it is easy to burn out sometimes. I try to set a daily target to get something done, try to leave it there and not leave things overnight,” says Chau, who comes from a wealthy family – his parents are Brenda Chau and the late Chau Kai-bong.

Chau admits that his schedule is demanding . “I just get busier and busier as I grow older. When I was younger, there was no burden … you can set your own time, set your own pace, do what you like – I kind of miss that time,” he says. “Now, it’s all about family, business, friends – suddenly, everything you do leaves an impact.”

His easy-going demeanour turns serious when he talks about his role as husband and a father of two young children. “The most important thing is to set priorities. Apart from work, my family is very important to me. I try to make time for my family at least every day, and spend time with them on the weekends.”

As far as his work is concerned, his main focus is on his two businesses, Noblesse Group and Attire House. With the latter, he relies on his business partner, Roger Chan. “Basically, we divide and conquer – trying to divide our time in different areas.”

His grandfather was Chau’s first inspiration for classic looks. And his studies in England further instilled in him his preference for the classic British look. This is in stark contrast to the sense of style his parents were well known for. “People are too afraid to express themselves – more people want to follow the flow, be like everyone else. But my parents were quite different in that regard, they were very brave. And that is always something that I respect.”

Chau admits with good humour that time management is not his greatest strength. “I’m sort of a creative person. So I really like to take my time to reflect on things, think about them and make long-term plans … I like to play around with time.”

But he is quick to add about the importance of delegating work where necessary. “I do believe that it is about teamwork [rather] than a single person’s work.”