The hospitality industry has faced a gauntlet of digital disruption, from sophisticated data breaches to evolving global privacy laws. At Langham Hospitality Group, this defense is spearheaded by Anson Cho, Director of Information Security & Data Protection, whose career trajectory offers a blueprint for modern security leadership.
Cho’s journey began in IT management at a listed company, where he built in-house ERP systems from the ground up. This provided a granular understanding of how technology is constructed – and how it can be secured. As the company faced stringent auditing requirements, Cho’s interest shifted toward institutional control, leading him to a Big Four auditing firm. There, he immersed himself in the high-pressure compliance environments of global financial institutions. Before joining Langham, Cho further refined his expertise at another global luxury group, bridging the gap between technical infrastructure and the high-touch expectations of a premium clientele.
“My current role is responsible for all information security and data protection aspects across the group,” Cho explains. “I’ve been able to synthesise skills from every stage of my career. A deep understanding of technology – from programming to infrastructure – is vital. But because data protection revolves around regulation, my background in audit is equally essential. To protect data effectively, you must understand both the machine and the law.”
Turning Crisis Into Opportunity: The Strategic Evolution
Cho joined Langham just six months before the global pandemic brought the hospitality industry to a standstill. While the period was devastating for global travel, Cho recognised a unique strategic window to begin a total overhaul of the group’s digital defenses.
“It was a challenging time for the sector,” Cho admits. “However, it created a landscape where solution providers were more open to negotiation and price flexibility. Because we were already looking to transition away from legacy providers, I was able to discuss whether new partners could offer more value for our investment.”
This efficiency earned him strong backing from the management team; they understood that upgrading security was a necessity, and the ‘quiet’ period of the pandemic provided the rare breathing room to implement complex changes without disrupting peak operations.
The Shift to Next-Gen Visibility
Since that initial overhaul, Cho’s team has continually refined its toolkit, keeping pace as both technology and the vendor landscape have matured. This evolution involved not only a leap in technology but also a strategic transition in service providers – choosing partners who could support a centralised, data-driven vision. This has led to the recent adoption of AI-driven tools, which represent a quantum leap over the traditional systems Langham used in the past.