John Robert Slosar () is an American-born

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 ...

businessman. He was the chairman and CEO of

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

and chairman of

Swire Pacific Swire Group ( zh, t=太古集團) is a highly diversified global conglomerate with its parent company being John Swire & Sons Limited that holds controlling stakes in a range of businesses trading in the UK, USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, ...

Early life and education

Slosar was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he played soccer and American football. He then attended the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Career

Slosar joined the

Swire group Swire Group ( zh, t=太古集團) is a highly diversified global conglomerate with its parent company being John Swire & Sons Limited that holds controlling stakes in a range of businesses trading in the UK, USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, ...

in 1980 as a management trainee. In 1996, he became managing director of the

Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) is an aircraft engineering and maintenance firm with its head office located at Hong Kong International Airport. It is a member of the Swire Swire Group ( zh, t=太古集團) is a ...

. In 1998, he became managing director of Swire beverages. In 2011, Slosar became the chief executive of

Cathay Pacific Airways Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...

. In 2014, he was promoted to Chairman of

Swire Properties Swire Properties Limited () is a property developer, owner and operator of mixed-use, principally commercial properties in Hong Kong and mainland China. Founded and headquartered in Hong Kong in 1972, Swire Properties is a property develope ...

Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) is an aircraft engineering and maintenance firm with its head office located at Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the ...

, and Swire beverages, becoming the 35th and the first non-British chairman of the company. In 2015, Slosar was bestowed the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

. He was a director of

Air China Air China, officially Air China Limited, ( zh, s=中国国际航空公司, labels=no, ''Zhōngguó guójì hángkōng gōngsī'') is a major Chinese airline and the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China. It is headquartered in Shunyi ...

, PureCircle, and a member of the Council of

Lingnan University Lingnan University a public research university located in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong. Lingnan University has 3 faculties, 3 Schools, 16 departments, 2 language centres, and 2 units (science and music), offering 29 degree honours ...

and the International Advisory Board of

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU or HKPU) is a public research university in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The university is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1937 a ...

. Slosar stepped down from his chairmanship of

Swire Swire Group ( zh, t=太古集團) is a highly diversified global conglomerate with its parent company being John Swire & Sons Limited that holds controlling stakes in a range of businesses trading in the UK, USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, ...

in 2018. He stayed on as the chairman of

until 2019. During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, he resisted pressure to suspend employees who participated in the protests and supported the staff's right to protest by saying that “We certainly wouldn’t dream of telling them what they have to think about something.” Slosar resigned in September 2019, before his board term was due to expire in May 2020.

Personal life

Slosar is married to Joy Slosar, who is from Thailand. His daughter, Dana Slosar, won the sixth season of ''Asia's Next Top Model''. It is reported that Slosar renounced his

United States citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

in 2010 and became a Chinese national.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slosar, John Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Businesspeople from Cleveland American airline chief executives Hong Kong business executives Columbia College (New York) alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Hong Kong people of American descent Recipients of the Legion of Honour Hong Kong Polytechnic University people