MY MISSION
The Ferryman
YOUR GUIDE FROM FRICTION TO FLOW
My mission is to end the hidden inefficiency that plagues creative and knowledge industries. I equip leaders and their teams with a replicable "Collaborative OS" - a system of tools, protocols, and, most importantly, a new mindset. This transforms them from being stuck in transactional games to becoming architects of shared success.
I don't just coach people.
I help build a new paradigm for how we work together.
My journey has been a quest to answer one question:
How do we transform the profound friction of collaboration into the profound flow of co-creation?
I am not a traditional coach. I am your
Strategic Alignment Partner.
For years, I worked at the highest levels of design, creating visions for billion-dollar developments. Yet, I consistently witnessed a painful paradox:
The most brilliant ideas were often derailed not by a lack of talent or resources, but by an invisible force - the internal friction of misalignment, unclear mandates, and broken communication.
This insight led me to a fundamental shift:
From designing physical spaces to architecting human collaboration systems.
David's
PROFESSIONAL BIO
David is recognized as a pioneering authority in the field of
Innovative Strategy Coach, specializing in helping enterprises crack their most complex, systemic business challenges.
A former shareholder of a top-tier global architectural design firm, he now translates his profound design thinking heritage into a "Value Symbiosis" system designed to eliminate hidden inefficiencies and reshape client-designer collaboration.
Acknowledged as a thought leader in the design world, David has spent the past two decades consistently leveraging the design thinking process to drive business evolution for his clients and designers. He firmly believes that to achieve new outcomes, one must employ new methods. His core competency lies in posing powerful "provocative questions" that ignite teams to break through cognitive boundaries, making him a sought-after "strategic thinking partner" for top entrepreneurs.
He is the author of "The Five Missing Lessons in Chinese Design," published by Tsinghua University Press. Unlike works focused solely on "design skills," this book imparts the essential "design mindset" required to achieve commercial results. With over thirty years of deep industry experience, David understands a critical insight: 80% of success in design and business hinges on human factors, with only 20% attributed to strategy. He is an expert in that decisive 80%.
For an enterprise's core decision-makers, David acts as a "Catalyst," accelerating profit maximization and guiding the organization successfully into its next-stage 3.0 evolution.
Professional Qualifications
Senior Certified Professional Coach (CTA-SCPC)
MBTI® Certified Practitioner
SSM - Mindfulness Tutor
ICF - PCC Coach
LMI Certified Coach Candidate
ICF-HK - Board Director
APCPA - member
APHDA - Expert Advisory Committee
Registered Interior Designer (HK)
Master of Counselling
Master of Business Administration
BA in Design
David'S LIFE BIO
You can call me David.
My journey has taught me that true resilience isn't about avoiding storms, but about learning to navigate them with clarity. This is the core of the strategic edge I bring to my clients.
My path has been marked by the same challenges that leaders and creators face: business downturns, severed contracts, personal loss, and moments of feeling utterly lost. I have not just survived these challenges; I have deconstructed them. I learned to find the hidden leverage in failure, challenge my own vulnerability, and transform fear into fuel. I now help leaders and teams do the same, turning adversity into the very thing that forges unbreakable team bonds and a resilient culture.
Two pivotal shifts unlocked my potential:
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The Power of the Inner World: A breakthrough in psychological counseling during college didn't just heal; it supercharged my creativity, leading to a cascade of success from scholarships to national design awards.
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The Coach's Mindset: Later, coaching empowered me to conquer a lifelong fear on the tennis court, leading to a dramatic performance leap.
These experiences proved a profound truth: mastery of the inner world is the ultimate catalyst for outer achievement. This is not just theory; it is the bedrock of my methodology.
Having worked with billionaires and design elites, I see a universal need: the craving for a thinking partner who is real, not reverent - someone to challenge their thinking and tell them the hard truths they need to hear.
As an introvert, my strength comes from deep observation and listening. This allows me to perceive the underlying currents—the unspoken tensions and hidden opportunities - within a person or a team. For over 20 years, I've channeled these insights onto the public stage, fulfilling my mission: to guide others as "The Ferryman," helping you cross from the choppy waters of internal friction to the solid ground of clarity, alignment, and breakthrough.
Professional Achievement
Ferryman & Co - Founder
Chinese Design Celebrity Leader Nominee
Top Ten Designers Award, Hong Kong
Top Ten Hotel Designers Award, Asia Pacific
Rotating President of the IEED
+60 Design Awards in HK, China & Australia
Speakers & Lecturers for the world's renowned Universities
CCTV2 1st Season <Secret Homage To Hero>
APIDA Professional Member
WATCH Design Museum - Head Coach
Author of "The Five Missing Lessons in Chinese Design," published by Tsinghua University Press.
I have had a life passion for
Listening and Questioning
Sustaining
Experience and Wisdom
Giving & Learning
Celebrating
Success
Unleashing People's Strength
Meeting Inspirational People
The Ferryman Legacy System
Architecting a Legacy of Value
For 33 years, my greatest source of inspiration has not been the projects themselves, but the complex human systems behind them. Engaging with clients, designers, and visionary leaders across cultures has revealed a universal pattern: untapped potential is the world's most abundant resource. My mission is to architect systems that unlock this potential, redirecting my creative energy into the ultimate "Human Architecture" business. Through provocative coaching and strategic design, we don't just build projects; we co-create the conditions for individuals and teams to realize their most ambitious dreams.
This brings me to the 13-Person Initiative. Launched in 2022, it is not merely a mentorship program. It is a strategic ecosystem for legacy-building. My goal is to transfer my complete "Collaborative OS" - the methodologies for resolving friction and creating value - to these 13 individuals over a 13-year horizon. By the time I am 70, this system will no longer be mine alone; it will be a mature, scalable resource for society, empowering a new generation of leaders to navigate their most complex challenges.
Concurrently, we are mobilizing a coalition of pro-bono design strategists. Our objective is not just "better communities" as an abstract dream. We are systematically prototyping a new model for value-driven community development in China. This is a feasible, actionable pillar of our legacy, and we are building the financial and human capital to make it a sustainable reality.
What does it take to join this ecosystem? We apply the 80/20 Principle to selection:
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80% is about your Position & Readiness: Are you at a strategic inflection point? Are you and your organization ready to embrace a new paradigm of work?
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20% is about your Passion & Drive: This is the fuel - the unwavering commitment to eat fear for breakfast and translate insight into action.
