The CEO is an Ex-telecoms guy, and you don't actually have to know how to do much. Most of the legwork is done by the submarine cable systems company you hire, in this case TE Subcom. Mostly it's just a funding entity.

Also, this cable was announced about a year ago: Nov 20 2015 (https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/...) :

Newly established Hong Kong-based company Pacific Light Data Communication (PLDC) – a subsidiary of investment fund China Soft Power Technology Holding Limited (CSPTHL) – has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TE SubCom for the construction of a new submarine cable system, dubbed Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN), which will directly connect Hong Kong with the US.

Could it be that nepotism exists in the (free) free market world? Shocking.