Hong Kong property tycoon Ronnie Chan is stepping down from the chairman position of Hang Lung Group, after more than three decades with the firm. His son Adriel Chan will be taking over the reins of the major mall and property developer, which owns prominent luxury fashion shopping centres including Shanghai’s Plaza 66.

The change will go in effect after a general meeting scheduled for April 26, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Adriel Chan will be the third generation of the Chan family to lead the firm, which was founded by Ronnie Chan’s father Chan Tseng-hsi in 1960.

Adriel Chan, aged 41, has been with Hang Lung Group since 2010 and has served as vice chair since 2020. He holds an EMBA degree jointly awarded by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from the University of Southern California.

The younger Chan takes the reins in a challenging retail environment in the Chinese market. In 2023, overall revenue for the group which operates shopping malls, office buildings and hotels across greater China, decreased by 1 percent year over year to 10.3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.39 billion).

Revenue from Hang Lung’s mall portfolio increased by 8 percent year over year, with luxury-focused malls growing by 9 percent, while its more affordable lifestyle shopping malls remained flat. The group’s flagship mall Plaza 66 grew by 10 percent last year.

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