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Zeman always tries to be number one

By Jolly Lam

Allan Zeman said with a laugh,¡§I took the post [Chairman of Ocean Park] because I am crazy.¡¨

He is a Canadian having lived in Hong Kong for over 34 years. He has businesses all over the world. He is also called ¡§Father of Lan Kwai Fong¡¨.

In recent years he accepted the appointment as the chairman of Ocean Park .

In his first year as chairman, Ocean Park earned the second highest amount of profit in the history of the company.

When he took over Ocean Park , it was losing money. But in his first year as chairman, Ocean Park earned the second highest amount of profit in the history of the company.

¡§When the Chief Executive asked me if I would be the chairman of the Park, I thought it was a difficult job because Ocean Park was a big project,¡¨ said he. ¡§However, I'd like to do it well.¡¨

He continued, ¡§We have to protect Ocean Park . It is part of Hong Kong culture and history. Everyone in Hong Kong grows up with Ocean Park . It is a family tradition.¡¨

Although running Ocean Park took a lot of his time, he thought it was important to make some contributions to Hong Kong .

Said he: ¡§I belong to Hong Kong . All my life is here. My children and wife are here. And I did my business well in Hong Kong and made lot of money. It's time to give back to the future generation and the community.¡¨

Mr. Zeman admitted that he had never been to Ocean Park before the appointment. He had never thought about being the chairman of the park either.

However, after visiting Ocean Park , he thought it was one of the greatest treasures of Hong Kong .

Despite the amazing natural beauty, he felt that Ocean Park was ¡§too old¡¨. He knew that he needed to make changes, including changes among the staff.

¡§I need someone with positive energy, who can build a team that is positive.

¡§I think if you are positive, you can do everything. If you are negative, everything will be a problem,¡¨ said he.

Besides hiring new Chief Executive Officer and other staff, he himself travels around the world. He had visited many theme parks and worked with different theme park designers.

He said, ¡§I also walked around the Park and understood it well. I saw the goods and bads when I tried to be a customer of the Park.¡¨

Mr. Zeman has been successful in other industries. He thinks that there is no difference between managing Ocean Park and other businesses. A quick mind as well as creativity are keys to successful business.

Another key to success is to strive to be first class.

¡§It is impossible sometimes to reach the first class. Then you might turn up to be in the business class after your attempt But, if you go to the business class right straight at the beginning, maybe you will get to the economy class only. Worse still, if you go to the economy, you will go bankrupt,¡¨ said he.

Mr. Zeman enjoys working as the chairman of Ocean Park . ¡§Watching the smiling faces of customers gives me a lot of joy actually,¡¨ he said.

Being a chairman brings along a lot of difficulties too. ¡§The difficult part is to bear full responsibility,¡¨ he said. ¡§I have the responsibility to take care of Ocean Park , to make sure that Ocean Park continues to be part of Hong Kong .¡¨

Now, he is happy that the Park is making profit. However, this is not enough. ¡§I will be satisfied when the new park is finished,¡¨ he said.

Many people think that Disney is a strong threat to Ocean Park . Mr. Zeman said, ¡§They are different.Ocean Park is made by Hong Kong , like Lan Kwai Fong. We created it and should be proud of it.¡¨

His goal is to make Ocean Parknumber one among the sea theme parks in the world.


Allan Zeman said that creativity is the key of success. Rachel Yip