Heart And Soul

The hospitality visionary and second-generation leader of Banyan Tree is a big believer of mindfulness. How did RENYUNG HO get there? Crystal Lee peels back the layers.

- Crystal Lee

‘‘Mindfulness” has been all the rage in the last five years and should need no explanation. Yet I googled it anyway.

“The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something,” Google Dictionary tells me. It says everything and nothing, because mindfulness has come to mean many things. It’s about being fully present. It’s having a relaxed-alert state of mind. It’s compassion. It’s meditation, both Buddhist and secular. It’s mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), which helps people better understand and manage their thoughts and emotions. It’s a lifestyle.

After spending weeks with Renyung Ho – mostly imaginatively, from reading the profiles written about her, it seems to me that the Vice President of Brand HQ at Banyan Tree Holdings embodies that multifaceted nature of mindfulness. Helming a unit responsible for brand development, alignment and strategy, the 36-year-old leads the group’s transformation drive towards a digitally forward ecosystem of brands advocating well-being and sustainability. The mother of one is also a founding member of the philanthropist platform AVPN Gender Network, and a business leader for the Red Dot for Pink Dot 2021 campaign.

As the hotel industry makes a full-court press on bringing business back to their properties, Renyung has been focusing on refining the company’s wellness offerings, starting inwards with its employees.