Michel Lu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HRH Michel Lu Prince of Qi (born December 25, 1970) has been involved in advertising, PR, technology, fashion and the hospitality industries.
Born in Hong Kong from the ancient royal line of the Chinese state of Qi, Prince Michel ('lu' hereafter) spent his formative years in Singapore. In the early 1990s, he started his working career in the advertising industry but soon returned to Hong Kong to work with his family business. Lu (and his family business group) has a diversified portfolio of companies in the region ranging from property development, warehousing, hotels, trading, entertainment as well as sporting goods. During this time, he also started assisting and representing Elite Model Management Worldwide in the Asian region.
In 1994, Lu negotiated for the license of and set up Elite Model Management in Hong Kong, Macau and China. It was an unprecedented success and became the industry leader within weeks of its inception. This opening was reported as far away as the Wall Street Journal in the United States. In 1996, he returned to Singapore where he set up the Singapore office of Elite Model Management that was a regional base for their operations in Asia. Lu personally handled and took care of super models like Valeria Mazza, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and others.
In 1998, Lu founded and was a prime moving force behind Lumina Communications before selling it to his partner, a specialized public relations and event management company which is still flourishing today.
In 1999, Lu conceptualized and created Lush (Essential Living After Dark), an exclusive bar/dance club catering to Singapore's affluent and trendy crowd but sold it in 2001 at the peak of it's popularity.
During 1999, Lu was also appointed Regional Director (Asia) of BusinessDevelopment.com, a New York based tech advisory. BusinessDevelopment.com is a partnership between the multi-billion dollar Wolfson Organization and the Hymax Group.
At the end of 2000, Lu signed a lease for 22,000 sq ft of prime waterfront real estate in Singapore and launched a multi concept multi level entertainment complex comprising Centro (1,000 capacity dance club), Embargo (modern waterfront tapas bar), Restaurant 360 (200 seat modern European dining), and Lola (a more intimate 500 capacity dance club). Centro went on to win many awards including the much-coveted 'Nightspot of the Year' in Singapore and the group also was the first to be awarded the unprecedented 24 hours operating license. The group organized many external events including acid jazz festival Inner Grooves, and the annual 20,000 capacity New Year's Eve party Essential NYE in conjunction with London's Ministry of Sound and many superstar DJs like Dimitri from Paris, Dave Seaman, Lisa Loud, Darren Emerson and so on.
At the end of 2005, after a two year hiatus, The Straits Times recently reported that Lu will be launching 2 new bar concepts in Singapore - a 4,500 sq ft al fresco garden bar called The Hacienda as well as a 3,000 sq ft slick urban RnB/Soul bar called Suba located in the central business district Suntec/Millennia area.
In mid 2006, Lu announced a new outlet, called superfamous, which will be located next to OCBC Centre in the heart of Singapore's CBD. superfamous is a high end cafe bar bistro and gourmet retail outlet with a substantial outdoor component.
According to latest news reports, Lu is also working on several other projects in Singapore and around the Asian region.
Michel Lu claims decscent from the royal lineage of the ancient Chinese state of Qi. He is styled His Royal Highness, and is addressed as Your Highness by his co-workers.
