[Chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees] Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Group, knew right from the start that whatever he did or created would have a significant bearing on the brand and identity of the company he founded. And although the marketing team at Banyan Tree is in full control, he sets the vision for the company - a vision adhered to not just by marketing but every department. "The defender of the brand is not the marketing guy, it's the CEO," he said. "A successful brand is the culmination of many things…From concept to execution of the product or service, from design and aesthetics to technology and functionality." And to achieve that end, he believes, every department has to have the "brand" as the key imperative. "I have always said that good marketing delivers the brand to the mind of the customer, but the brand is independent of the marketing. It exists in and of itself.”