About

Hospitality has long been a part of Louis Li’s DNA. After growing up among a family of land developers in Kunming, the now hotelier and CEO chased his love of storytelling to Melbourne to study film, before pivoting to open his first hotel, Jackalope, in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The regional hotel has since gone on to be recognized as one of ‘The World’s 100 Greatest Places’ by TIME in 2018, and ‘Hotel of the Year’ in 2017 by Gourmet Traveller. Then, impressed by the cross-cultural sensibilities of Black Star Pastry’s Strawberry Watermelon Cake — dubbed ‘the world’s most Instagrammed cake’ — Louis also acquired the Australian bakery and café in 2018, elevating it to a global audience with the opening of its first store in Shanghai.