MBA Connect
December 2015
 CUHK MBA
Photo taken at Gregory's startup, Deal Décor Inc.

Connect Story

Gregory Lok

New Business Ventures at Konica Minolta Inc.
(Full-time, Class of 2009)


I’m an American born Chinese from San Francisco with family roots in Hong Kong. Before joining CUHK, I was working in Southern China for America’s largest home improvement retailer, Home Depot, where I was responsible for sourcing and designing furniture products.

I had always been drawn to the idea of getting an MBA.  Returning to the USA for such an education did not seem appealing.  Hong Kong represented a unique opportunity for me to get to know the city where my parents grew up and to also get an awesome education from one of the finest programs globally.

I was interested in pivoting my career from developing products to something new.  My first job post-MBA was becoming a management consultant at IBM’s strategy division in Hong Kong. 
Participants discussing questions raised by the speaker
What was your most remarkable achievement from CUHK MBA?

I led our class’s corporate social responsibility team on organizing a phenomenal event, the CUHK MBA CSR Conference. It was one of my first times that I really took leadership in pulling together a team, raising money, and making things happen.  These skills are quite similar to those of an entrepreneur, a career path I later discovered matched my personality and skill set.
Apart from the advantages mentioned above, what important skills or lessons have you learned that served you well in your career?

I think one of the biggest challenges that young professionals face is understanding and accepting what they are really good at and embracing it. We often chase superficial goals just to follow the masses, as popular choices are often easier. For example, after the MBA I chose a job in management consulting because it was the fashionable thing to do. I’ve always known that I could make a decent career as a consultant, but that’s not who I am. I think one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned is to embrace what you are good at as soon as you can. For me, that has been recognizing some core skills and interest in bringing ideas to life – whether that be for my own businesses or for a company.  
Would you like to introduce the company Deal Decor Inc. that you founded? 

Deal Décor Inc. was my first consumer Internet startup that attempted to disrupt the $90bn furniture industry in America by leveraging group-buying and direct sourcing to simplify the furniture supply chain.  I started the business in 2011, sold part of its assets in 2014 and closed it down in 2015.  
What kind of business are you doing right now? Can you also tell us a bit more about your future career plans?

I have a pretty cool job at Konica Minolta, where I lead up new business ventures for two verticals – robotics and internet of things for the workplace. What I get to do is think critically about what new technologies and business domains are the future for our business, and then go out and make it happen through investments, partnerships and mergers and acquisitions. Right now I’m knee deep in starting a new business from scratch for Konica Minolta – it’s like a startup, but within a big company.

While it’s an amazing role and opportunity, I realize my destiny is starting something of my own one day again. I love the challenge of bringing new ideas to life by getting people excited about a better, new vision of doing things.
What were your most enjoyable or unforgettable moments in your MBA program?

The most memorable moments were also the most mundane. During the MBA I really challenged myself to develop strong habits and make sacrifices to achieve certain goals. I remember setting my alarm clock every day at 6am or 6:30am to work out, then go to have breakfast and to the library to read the WSJ, before going to class. Later I would do the same even when I didn’t have any classes. For me, that is really memorable because it trained me to have the discipline to be successful post-MBA.
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