Italian lifestyle as seen from China The Italian lifestyle, particularly food and wine and the role it has in Italian culture, as seen from the perspective of the Chinese media. Organised in assoc...
Lawrence Lo
Lawrence Lo is the founder of LHY Etiquette Consultancy Limited. He grew up in a Hong Kong diplomat’s family where his father was once Chief Trade Representative to the United States and later to the European Union. He had the opportunities to actively participate in many official events, where he learnt and witnessed at first hand the fine art of diplomatic and social protocol.
Founded in 2007 with marketing specialist Annie Zheng, LHY Etiquette Consultancy Limited provides training in cross-cultural understanding, and specialises in tailor-made in-house corporate trainings in international business etiquette, social manners, foreigner localization and sensitivity training, western table manners, and wine appreciation. He has a unique style of training which uses food and beverage as a conduit for different cultures to better understand each other.
Lawrence Lo’s educational experience highlights knowledge in various fields relating to his consultancy. He attended The King’s School Canterbury in England where he was taught self-discipline and proper manners at an early age. He graduated from Georgetown University in America studying international relations and Spanish literature. Following his father’s diplomatic posting, he then moved to Belgium and obtained a post-graduate degree in European Studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain. Furthermore, fascinated by his interest in wine, he subsequently graduated with distinction at the Namur School of Hotel Management (Institut Supérieur de Gestion Hôtelière) in Belgium.
His background makes him unique and ideal for this etiquette consultancy. His cosmopolitan savoir-faire, East-meets-West cultural knowledge, as well as fluency in Cantonese, English, French, Mandarin and Spanish, are testaments to his international exposure and multicultural understanding. He began his working career in the hospitality industry at London’s Four Seasons Hotel, followed by New York’s Warwick Hotel. Later, he worked in wine-related industries in Washington DC, where he also established a private wine tasting club for high-end clientele. His desire to return to his roots led him to China in 2002 and continued working in the food and beverage industry.
Apart from training and speeches, he is a regular featured guest on television. Most recently, on Shanghai’s ICS Channel, he acted as the Royal Etiquette commentator for the 7-hour live broadcast of Prince Williams’ wedding (with an estimated 400,000 local audience). He is also the food & wine critic for the station’s weekly programme Independent Inspector. He has been featured as a cross-cultural consultant on BBC Radio 4, CNNGo.com etc. In addition, he appears regularly as contributing writer and featured columnist in Chinese nationwide lifestyle, food and wine magazines such as www.forbeschina.com.
Amongst some of his training project clients include (in alphabetical order) BP, Citibank, Georgetown University MBA and EMBA, Porsche, Shangri-La Hotels, Standard Chartered Bank. He also acts as an independent food and wine consultant for FIJI Water, Fissler, Schott-Zwiesel Crystal Glassware, Godiva, Lindt Chocolatier, Wine Australia (As Certified A+ Australian Wine Specialist Educator). Linking this with his role as a food and wine travel and lifestyle blogger, some of his partnerships are further augmented by Avis Car Rental, Hilton Hotels, Rimowa Luggage, Qantas Airways, South Australia Tourism Commission and top leading international PR firms.
Outside of work, Lawrence Lo has a keen interest in classical music. During his formative years in England, he obtained the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music violin Grade Six examination with distinction. Amongst the various school symphony and chamber orchestras that he played in, the most notable highlight included an orchestral master class with the legendary conductor Sir Georg Solti.