Daisy Ho became Chairman and Executive Director of SJM Holdings in 2018, stepping into the role her father, Stanley Ho, built over six decades. She has since guided the company through Macau’s toughest gaming license renewal in years and opened one of the region’s largest resorts. Ho also runs finance at Shun Tak Holdings and sits on several boards outside gaming.
Who Is Daisy Ho?
Daisy Ho Chiu-fung was born in Hong Kong in 1964. She is the daughter of Macau casino pioneer Stanley Ho and his second wife, Lucina Laam. Ho earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Southern California, then completed an MBA in finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management in 1990.
She joined the family conglomerate, Shun Tak Holdings, in 1994 as an executive director. By 1999, she had risen to Deputy Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, a role she still holds today. From that seat, she oversees financial strategy, property investment, and planning across Shun Tak’s transport, real estate, and hospitality divisions.
Daisy Ho’s Career at SJM Holdings
The SJM Holdings board named Ho Chairman in 2018, and she formally joined the board of directors in March 2019. In September 2022, the board went further and appointed her Managing Director of SJM Resorts, S.A., the subsidiary that actually holds the company’s Macau gaming license. That appointment made her the company’s official representative in dealings with the Macau government.
| Year | Milestone |
| 1994 | Joins Shun Tak Holdings as Executive Director |
| 1999 | Becomes Deputy Managing Director and CFO of Shun Tak Holdings |
| 2018 | Appointed Chairman of SJM Holdings |
| 2019 | Elected to the SJM Holdings Board of Directors |
| 2021 | Opens the Grand Lisboa Palace resort in Cotai |
| 2022 | Appointed Managing Director of SJM Resorts, S.A. |
| 2023 | SJM’s new 10-year Macau gaming concession takes effect |
| 2025 | Agrees to pay HK$529 million for former gaming space at Hotel Lisboa (August) |
| 2025 | Completes a HK$1.75 billion takeover of L’Arc Hotel, ending its satellite casino status (December) |
How Daisy Ho Won Macau’s Gaming Concession
Macau ran a competitive public tender in 2022 that decided which operators kept the right to run casinos in the territory. SJM Holdings won a provisional 10-year concession that November, effective January 1, 2023. The new license pushed SJM to shift focus away from high-roller VIP rooms and toward mass-market gaming and non-gaming tourism.
Ho had already set that shift in motion. She opened the first tower of Grand Lisboa Palace in July 2021, a Cotai resort that would grow to nearly 1,900 rooms across three hotel towers. The Karl Lagerfeld tower, the world’s first hotel fully designed by the late fashion icon, followed that December, and Asia’s first Palazzo Versace hotel completed the complex in 2023.
Ho kept building through 2025. SJM agreed in August to pay HK$529 million for former gaming space inside Hotel Lisboa, folding it into Casino Lisboa. In December, the company closed a separate HK$1.75 billion deal for the L’Arc Hotel, ending its run as a satellite casino at 2 a.m. on December 30. Both moves followed Macau’s revised gambling law, which required satellite casinos to close or convert to direct ownership by the end of 2025. SJM redistributed gaming tables from its shuttered satellites into core properties like Grand Lisboa, Hotel Lisboa, and Grand Lisboa Palace.
SJM Holdings: Before and After Daisy Ho
Daisy Ho’s leadership marks a major shift in Macau’s gambling history, moving SJM toward mass-market gaming and tourism.
| Area | Stanley Ho Era | Daisy Ho Era |
| Business focus | VIP junket and high-roller gaming | Mass-market gaming and tourism |
| Flagship property | Grand Lisboa (opened 2007) | Grand Lisboa Palace (opened 2021) |
| License structure | Original Macau gaming concession | Renewed 10-year concession from 2023 |
| Portfolio strategy | Concentrated casino operations | Diversified resorts, hotels, and non-gaming amenities |
Daisy Ho’s Beyond the Casino Floor
Ho’s work reaches well past SJM. She has chaired the Hong Kong Ballet since 2013 and was re-elected in 2020. She also serves as Vice Chairman of the children’s charity Po Leung Kuk and Honorary Vice President of the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association, a group she belonged to as a child.
Her ties to the University of Toronto run deep. She chairs the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation, which her father helped establish in 1995, and it has funded scholarships for nearly 100 Hong Kong students since then. Ho also sits on the Dean’s Advisory Board at the school’s Rotman School of Management and gave a $2 million gift that created an award for emerging student leaders.
Daisy Ho Awards and Recognition
Daisy Ho’s business and charitable work have both drawn recognition across Asia.
- Named Executive of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards Asia-Pacific 2025 in Manila, the first leader of a Macau integrated resort company to win the honor
- Included in Tatler Asia’s 2025 list of the most influential people shaping Hong Kong and the wider region
- Ranked among Asia’s Most Influential from 2021 through 2024 for her impact on real estate, hospitality, and the arts
- Received the Women of Hope Award in 2019 for her work supporting women and children in Hong Kong
- Awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2021 for community and arts contributions
The Bottom Line on Daisy Ho
Daisy Ho took over a company built entirely around her father’s legacy and pushed it toward a different kind of gaming business. She secured SJM’s license for another decade, opened one of Cotai’s biggest resorts, and spent 2025 consolidating the company’s Macau footprint. Her next test is proving that a mass-market, tourism-driven SJM can compete with Macau’s other major operators over the long run.
Frequently Asked Questions About Daisy Ho
Who is Daisy Ho?
Daisy Ho is the Chairman and Executive Director of SJM Holdings, one of Macau’s largest casino operators. She is the daughter of the late Stanley Ho, who founded the company, and she has led it since 2018.
What company does Daisy Ho run?
Ho chairs SJM Holdings and its main subsidiary, SJM Resorts, S.A., which holds the group’s Macau gaming license. She also serves as Deputy Managing Director and CFO of the family’s other conglomerate, Shun Tak Holdings.
What degrees does Daisy Ho hold?
Ho holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Southern California and an MBA in finance from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, which she completed in 1990.
When did SJM win its new Macau gaming license?
SJM Holdings was awarded a provisional 10-year gaming concession in November 2022, and the license officially took effect on January 1, 2023, following a competitive public tender process.
What does Daisy Ho do outside of SJM Holdings?
Ho chairs the Hong Kong Ballet, serves as Vice Chairman of Po Leung Kuk, and holds an honorary vice president role with the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association. She also chairs the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation.