Few Asian business leaders have enjoyed a career path as unlikely as William Wong Cheung-lok, Chairman of the Board of Digital Domain. Trained as an accountant, he joined the global leader in visual effects (VFX) and advanced visualisation technologies almost by accident, and found himself drawn into an industry driven by imagination, innovation and relentless reinvention. Today, he is steering the company through a new era, shaped by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies, in the belief that the future of digital content depends as much on human judgment as on computational power.
Changing the Game
When William joined Digital Domain 17 years ago, he couldn’t imagine his future would lie in cinema and advanced visual effects. “I never thought I’d be in the movie business,” he says with a laugh. “I joined as an accountant.” At the time, a friend had recommended the company because the entertainment field “seemed fun”. He started out preparing financial statements and compliance reports, far removed from the glamour of VFX in film, TV, and live events. Yet as the business evolved, so did his role.
Digital Domain’s legacy traces back to an early 1990s start-up in Los Angeles. Today, through a series of acquisitions and reorganisations, the company has a network of production facilities around the world including Los Angeles, Vancouver, Shanghai, Hyderabad, and more. It counts international blockbusters such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Black Widow, A Minecraft Movie, and Thunderbolts* among its more recent credits.
William’s turning point came when the company went through one of its changes of ownership. He was asked by the new leadership if he intended to stay. “I said yes, and I stayed through every transition,” he recalls. That loyalty proved pivotal: he rose from CFO to CEO and, most recently, to Chairman of the company. It is a rare ascent in the VFX world, where the creative and technical leads typically dominate the path to the top.
Under his direction, Digital Domain has broadened its remit far beyond traditional filmmaking. The company now operates at the intersection of AI, virtual humans, technological innovation and enterprise applications, ranging from digital assistants in banking to immersive presentations for corporations. “Our industry changes very fast,” William says. “Competition forces you to innovate. If you stop, you fall behind.”
New technologies and intense competition make for a consistently tough operating environment, but there is also no shortage of opportunities for those with the right business instincts and creative foresight. That is especially true as demand for eye-catching visuals increases and AIGC (artificial intelligence generated content) opens up all kinds of new possibilities stretching well beyond the traditional spheres of media and entertainment.
“We believe AI is a tool to improve efficiency and effectiveness, but it will not replace our most important asset which is the artistic talent of our creative teams,” William says. “Technology can enhance those abilities, giving more options, scenarios, different ways to do things, and helping us think out of the box.”
A prime example is the company’s virtual human project, which was inspired by a request from a Taiwan-based bank looking for a viable and cost-effective solution for handling routine client interactions. The project combines Digital Domain’s expertise in VFX and AI and is set to change how customers everywhere communicate with service providers in any number of industries.
“This is a business application which addresses labour shortages and capacity issues,” William says. “It can be easily adopted by the restaurant and retail sectors, among others, and will allow us to move beyond the entertainment space and explore the capabilities of the type of virtual humans we developed for superhero movies, showing facial expressions and emotions.”
Shaping Tomorrow
William’s leadership philosophy blends pragmatism and optimism, shaped by his own non-linear career and by a strong sense of purpose. One story in particular illustrates how he sees Digital Domain’s technologies as a tool for social good.
He shares the story of being introduced to a teenage boy suffering from a rare illness that drastically shortens life expectancy. The boy had attended a seminar about virtual humans and told William he hoped one day to create a digital avatar so his voice and image could continue helping people long after he was gone. “His positivity really touched me,” William says. “He told me, ‘If I have a digital avatar, I can still help others even when I’m not here.’”
Moved by the encounter, William and his team used their own funds to produce a prototype digital avatar for the boy. This wasn’t charity but a demonstration of how new technologies can support resilience, community and dignity. “This is the Hong Kong spirit,” he says. “We fight for each other.”
Such encounters strengthen William’s conviction that innovation must extend beyond entertainment. While film VFX remains Digital Domain’s backbone, he sees enormous opportunities in enterprise applications, training, customer engagement and immersive digital infrastructure. “AI is not about replacing people,” he insists. “It is about enhancing our creativity and making new things possible.”
This ambition aligns with his belief in Hong Kong’s strategic advantages. He notes that the city’s mix of Eastern and Western cultures and its growing support for R&D, position it well to become a regional centre for next-generation digital content. “Hong Kong is unique,” he says. “We can draw talent from both sides and contribute internationally and to Mainland China at the same time.”
Lessons That Last
Having spent nearly two decades navigating a rapidly changing industry, William has developed a distinctive view of leadership. At the centre of it is a simple principle: commitment.
“If the team is good, you are good. If the team is bad, you are bad,” he says. “So spend more time improving yourself and contributing, rather than complaining.”
His advice to younger staff is direct: master the skills of your craft, learn continuously, and treat the company’s challenges as your own. “Once you join a business, you should commit to it,” he adds. “Every business is tough. There is no easy industry.”
He also urges leaders to embrace competition, not defensively but as a fuel. “Competition pushes us to do better,” he says. “If we are the leader today, it doesn’t mean we will be tomorrow unless we keep improving.”
Reflecting on his own journey from accountant to Chairman of the Board, William says he hopes future leaders remain adaptable. “I joined different industries before this one, and each time I had to learn from zero,” he says. “If I could advise my younger self, I would say: prepare well, commit fully, and don’t be afraid to try something new.”
As Digital Domain continues to expand into AI, virtual humans and immersive enterprise solutions, William sees the company’s future as one shaped by both technological possibility and human purpose. “The technology evolves fast,” he says. “But what really matters is how we use it to help people, to help society, and to build something that lasts.”
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