The 48^th year of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series came to a close in Hong Kong tonight —the new kid on the block for the global Series.

Hong Kong’s first Corporate Challenge started and finished in the West Kowloon Cultural District and drew an impressive crowd of 4,750 participants from over 150 companies—marking one of the highest attendance levels for a debut event in the history of the Corporate Challenge.

“We are thrilled to introduce this unique corporate event to Hong Kong as J.P. Morgan celebrates 100 years in this key market. It will undoubtedly become a key fixture in the business community and grow into a major social event for the city. The team spirit, positivity, and connection on display were truly inspiring,” said Kam Shing Kwang, CEO of J.P. Morgan Hong Kong.  

Helping Hong Kong get off to such a great start were the 10 largest participating companies in terms of entrants:  Goldman Sachs (105), BlackRock (75), Citadel and Citadel Securities (72), NWS Holdings Limited (50), Jane Street (48), Fitch Group (44), Mergermarket Consulting Limited (40), Belden Asia (38), and Aon (36).

Participation among J.P. Morgan’s own employees was also a standout as the largest employee gathering at any Corporate Challenge in 2024. It also marked the first time in Series history that a city other than New York, Chicago or Frankfurt had the largest J.P. Morgan turnout in a Series year.

Connor Hobbs, running for global trading firm Jane Street, made history as the first-ever finisher at the Corporate Challenge Hong Kong. He completed the 3.5-mile (5.6km) course in 19:08 minutes, winning the male division. Chin Li, from Morgan Stanley, earned the female division crown with a time of 22:41.

The average time of all finishers was 39:42, which equates to 6th best in the 2024 Corporate Challenge Series, behind London (32:13), Sydney (35:32), Frankfurt (37:34), Buenos Aires (38:14), and San Francisco (39:23).

All 4,750 entrants will have an impact beyond the finish line as J.P. Morgan will donate on participants’ behalf to LoveXpress, which aims to foster love and inclusion for autistic individuals by collaborating with partners from various sectors of the community to help empower them.

Overall, the Global Series had another outstanding year, with over 220,000, participants across 16 locations surpassing the 2023 Series total of 193,612.

The 49th year of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series will begin on Thursday, March 13 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The complete 2025 Series is scheduled to be announced in January.