Royce Y.C. Hong

Royce Y.C. Hong BFA 94

Designer by training, entrepreneur by circumstance, and a car enthusiast by obsession, Royce is a business-leader across multiple industries, scales and scopes. He concurrently holds positions as Chairman of Panasonic Taiwan, a manufacturer of home appliances and electronic components with over 6 decades in the region, Founder and CEO at IPEVO Inc., a maker of design-driven AI-empowered communication devices now used in over 60% of US K12 schools, and XING Mobility, a startup developing advanced immersion-cooled battery systems powering the next generation electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

Royce connects and leverages these diverse commitments by combining design-driven approach with cutting-edge technology. Naturally drawn to and inspired by "Paradigm Shifts,” he focuses on industries undergoing profound change, and that are under-resourced or under-served, using his unique grasp of both technology and creativity to then disrupt and reinvent the status quo.

In 2021, Royce also assumed the role of chairman at the Hong Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting culture and the arts, since 1971, through various innovative projects to advance Taiwan's communities. The Foundation's mission is to infuse the power of avant-garde creations into society, making the culture of creating a nourishing force for both society and industries.

Royce earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic & Packaging Design from ArtCenter College of Design. Twice TEDxTaipei speaker, Royce is also the author of the book Driven by Design (有道理的設計) published in 2012 and was a columnist for Business Weekly (商業周刊 in Taiwan from 2017-2020.