{{Short description|Hong Kong businessman (1922–2020)}} {{For|the fictional character in Marvel Comics|Jimmy Woo}} '''James Tak Wu''', GBS, ({{zh|c=伍沾德|p=Wǔ Zhāndé}}; 1922 – 29 October 2020) was a Hong Kong businessman who co-founded Maxim's Catering (now a major subsidiary of Dairy Farm International Holdings) and co-founded a chain of restaurants, nightclubs, fast-food outlets, cake and coffee shops, institutional catering units and theaters throughout Hong Kong. As of 2015, Wu remained Honorary Chairman of Maxim's Group under Jardine Matheson's ownership.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jardines.com/assets/files/NewsAndEvents/thistle/15_vol1.pdf|journal=Thistle, the Magazine of Jardine Matheson|volume=1|date=2015|title=Topping-out of Maxim's Centre}}</ref>
==Background== With ancestry from Taishan, Guangdong, Wu was born in the United States and educated in Guangdong. Wu graduated from Lingnan University in Guangzhou in 1947. With brother S.T. Wu, Wu established Maxim's Catering in Kowloon, Hong Kong, in 1956<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120902122741/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5466333 ''Business Week'' article]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.hku.hk/eroonweb/honfellows/fellow_detail.php?section=main&id=100|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408014641/http://www3.hku.hk/eroonweb/honfellows/fellow_detail.php?section=main&id=100|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-04-08|title=Honorary University Fellows|website=University of Hong Kong}}</ref> and, by 1967, had a thriving business.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/trademarks/trademarks_decisions/decision/DEC197100071OP.pdf|website=Intellectual Property Department, Hong Kong Government|date=30 June 1982|title=Decision|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=23 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023005202/https://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/trademarks/trademarks_decisions/decision/DEC197100071OP.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Wu was a member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tourism.gov.hk/resources/english/paperreport_doc/press/2002-12-24/appointment_to_hk_e.pdf|title=Appointments to Hong Kong Tourism Board|website=Department of Tourism, Hong Kong Government|date=24 December 2002}}</ref>
==Family== He is the father of Annie Wu Suk-ching.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.womenofchina.cn/Profiles/Businesswomen/15568.jsp |title=Annie Wu biography |access-date=2009-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302094113/http://www.womenofchina.cn/Profiles/Businesswomen/15568.jsp |archive-date=2009-03-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Honours== Wu is Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Development & Planning Council, whose focus is on nurturing professional management talent for Southern China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 September 2019 |title=James Wu |url=https://www.chinawu.com/zixun/detail/?newsId=1be4b772b0b8c997 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424184738/https://www.chinawu.com/zixun/detail/?newsId=1be4b772b0b8c997 |archive-date=24 April 2024 |website=中华伍式网 chinawu.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=15 May 2002 |title=嶺南之光——伍沾德學長榮獲銀紫荊星章 |trans-title=The Pride of Lingnan — Alumnus James Wu Awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star |url=https://commons.ln.edu.hk/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1151&context=lingnan_newsletter |journal=《岭南通讯》**Lingnan Chronicle** |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421102559/https://commons.ln.edu.hk/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1151&context=lingnan_newsletter |archive-date=21 April 2023}}</ref> *He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou and Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. *In 2009, he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government. *He was named "Honorary Citizen of Guangzhou" by the municipal government of his native Guangzhou in 2003.
== Death == On 19 November 2020, the Maxim's Group published a post on its website, announcing Wu had died on 29 October 2020 at Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, aged 98.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3110500/james-wu-co-founder-hong-kongs-biggest-restaurant-group-maxims | title=James Wu, co-founder of Hong Kong's biggest restaurant group Maxim's, targeted during protests, dies aged 98 | first=Enoch | last=Yiu | publisher=South China Morning Post | date=19 November 2020 | access-date=19 November 2020 }}</ref>
==Legacy== *The Dr and Mrs James Tak Wu Award for Outstanding Service (Lingnan University; established 1998)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-prec}} {{s-bef|before = Alice Tai<br><small>''Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star''</small>}} {{s-ttl|title = Hong Kong order of precedence<br><small>''Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star''</small>}} {{s-aft|after = Frederick Ma<br><small>''Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star''</small>}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, James Tak}} Category:1922 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Hong Kong chief executives Category:Hong Kong restaurateurs Category:Lingnan University (Guangzhou) alumni Category:Nightclub owners Category:Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star Category:American emigrants to Hong Kong