Four Seasons Hotel Shenzhen

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2022
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Current

Employment History

• The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, China; Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, Japan; Rosewood London, UK; Shangri-La The Shard, London, UK; Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing, China; Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong, China; Jumeirah - Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE; Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, UK; Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, China

Education

• Hotel Administration and Management, Hotel Management School, Les Roches, Switzerland

Birthplace

• New Zealand

Languages Spoken

• English, conversationally proficient Cantonese

Merging exceptional business acumen with natural people skills, Nicholas Liang found his path early in life. While studying a British School Curriculum in Hong Kong, he took a summer job as a bellboy at the city’s Mandarin Oriental and was immediately seduced by the luxurious environment.

The following year, armed with his trademark determination, he embarked on an internship in the hotel’s pastry kitchen – and so began his career trajectory within the world’s most prestigious companies. “At a young age, I fell in love with the excitement and energy that the hospitality industry offers,” he comments, “but most importantly I discovered that my driving force is engaging with people.”

Nicholas credits his early mentors with fanning the flames of his success, including the “legendary” Liam Lambert, then general manager of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong who he describes as “the epitome of a luxury hotelier in every sense of the word.” The following decades saw him further inspired by Pierre Perusset, a Ritz-Carlton leader, from whom he gained not only professional guidance but personal and spiritual mentoring too.  

Key to his exponential growth is Nicholas’ dedication to “discovering and learning about hotel operation disciplines outside of my comfort zone.” Holding his dream of one day becoming a general manager of a luxury hotel, he moved through the ranks of food and beverage in Forbes Five-Star establishments – including a Michelin-starred restaurant – in the UK, UAE and across Asia: from restaurant manager to executive assistant manager of food and beverage to hotel manager of Ritz-Carlton’s flagship Hong Kong property, with responsibility for an operational team of more than 650.

His intuitive pursuit of “high personalization, refinement, and evolution of guest experiences” perfectly aligns with Four Seasons ethos. But Nicholas’ deepest desire as a senior leader is to empower his team by working alongside them. “I believe in inspiration through action: if I’m not working alongside my team I’m not leading,” he says. “We always need to perform as one; hospitality is never an individual’s game.”

Nicholas takes the same engaged and heartfelt approach to family life. Married with two young boys, he loves nothing more in his spare time than spending time with his family and exploring new destinations together – although it may be a few years yet until he can involve his sons fully in his most recent adrenalin-seeking pastime: paragliding.