Sir Dickson Poon (; born 19 June 1956) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

business magnate in the

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, a tax on products not considered essential, such as speedboats or diamonds. **Luxury tax (sports), a ...

goods retailing sector. Poon is the executive chairman of his Hong Kong–based and listed company Dickson Concepts (DCIL), which owns companies including

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols Group Limited ( trading as Harvey Nichols) is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831 by Benjamin Harvey; it is headquartered at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections ...

and S. T. Dupont. Through trusts, he controls 40.13% of the voting capital of DCIL as of 31 March 2008.

Film

Along with

Sammo Hung Samuel "Sammo" Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a figh ...

, Poon founded D&B Films Co., Ltd which released action and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

motion pictures such as the '' In the Line of Duty'' series, ''

Hong Kong 1941 ''Hong Kong 1941'' () is a 1984 Hong Kong war drama film directed by Po-Chih Leong, produced by John Shum and written by Sammo Hung. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Cecilia Yip and Alex Man. For his performance in this film, Chow was awarded his fi ...

'', '' Legacy of Rage'' and more than 50 other titles. The company's last production, ''Black Cat II: Assassination of President Yeltsin'' ("Hei mao zhi ci sha Ye Li Qin"), was in 1992.

Personal life

Poon's first marriage was to Marjorie Yang, daughter of Hong Kong textile magnate Y. L. Yang ( Yang Yuan-Loong), and chairwoman of the Esquel Group. They have a daughter, Dee Poon Chu-ying (). In 1984, Poon's company signed the then-21-year-old

Miss Malaysia Miss Malaysia is a national beauty pageant in Malaysia. Notable winners of Miss Malaysia * Tengku Zanariah Tengku Ahmad (Miss International Malaya 1960) – Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia from 1984 to 1989. * Yasmin Yusoff (Miss Universe ...

Michelle Yeoh Yeoh Choo Kheng (; born 6 August 1962), known professionally as Michelle Yeoh (), is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, Yeoh has appeared Michelle Yeoh filmography, in projects encompassing a wide array of genres, a ...

, to appear in a television ad opposite

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

. That appearance, with Poon's help, subsequently helped to launch Yeoh's motion picture career with the 1985

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression a ...

Yes, Madam Yes, Madam may refer to: * ''Yes, Madam'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Yes, Madam'' (1942 film), an Italian romance film * ''Yes, Madam'' (1985 film), a Hong Kong action film * '' Yes, Madam?'', a 1938 British musical comedy film * '' ...

''. Four years later, in February 1988, Yeoh suspended her movie career to marry Poon. She resumed it three-and-a-half years later when the couple separated in 1991. He married his third wife Kwai-chu "Pearl" Yu in 1992. They have four children, daughters Daryl and Dana and sons Pearson () and Dexter. Pearson, a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

graduate, was appointed as an Executive Director of Dickson Concepts on 14 December 2018.

Academic gifts

In November 2010, Poon donated 10 million to

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a ...

for the construction of the Dickson Poon China Centre, which will bring together, for the first time, academics from a range of research interests related to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, provide accommodation for the college's postgraduate students, and house the Chinese Collection of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

. Poon's donation to St. Hugh's College was followed two years later by a £20 million donation to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

to fund the existing law faculty. It was the largest donation by an individual to the University in its history. In recognition of his donation, the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

was renamed

The Dickson Poon School of Law The Dickson Poon School of Law is the law school of King's College London, itself part of the federal University of London, and one of the nine faculties within the college. It is situated on the Strand in the East Wing of Somerset House. Th ...

Awards

Dickson Poon was knighted in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to business and charity, especially higher education.2015 New Year Honours List

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poon, Dickson 1956 births Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Chinese businesspeople in fashion Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong chief executives Living people Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star Fellows of King's College London