The Success Of Taiwan'S First Female Billionaire

Wang Xuehong is the richest woman in Taiwan, the daughter of the late tycoon Wang Yongqing. She resolutely avoids being exposed to the spotlight, which has earned her a shyness and mystery.

Until the smartphone company she founded became a rapidly rising star, the 50 year old company.

Observers say that Wang Xuehong's ability to put herself in the shoes of consumers is an important factor in her company's success.

Wang Xuehong, a company executive who works with HTC, said: "with the eyes of consumers,

As the daughter of Taiwan's richest woman, the founder of Htc CO and Wang Yongqing, the daughter of Taiwan's late tycoon, Wang Xuehong has become the focus of public attention. But she resolutely avoids being exposed to the spotlight, which has earned her a shyness and mystery.

Until the world's electronics manufacturers, Wang Xuehong, a smart phone company founded in 1997, has become a rapidly rising company.

Observers say that Wang Xuehong can put himself in the shoes of consumers, which is one of the most important factors for the success of chip group maker Weisheng and HTC.

This empathy enables HTC to achieve a leap from contract manufacturer to brand seller, which is difficult for other IT companies in Taiwan.

One of the executives of T-Mobile, who worked with HTC, said: "Wang Xuehong manages the business with a consumer's eye, because she is not an engineer.

Many times, she made the right choice by intuition. "

Warmth: the secret weapon of management

Wang Xuehong may be very quiet in public, but when he talks about her business and management at the Beijing headquarters of Weisheng luxury, she appears cheerful and enthusiastic.

She even asked the staff to bring her sweet and hot lemon juice to relieve her sore throat.

It can be seen that personal warmth is a secret weapon in her management style.

She said that one of the most important aspects of her leadership style is to understand employees: "how do I find their talents, make them succeed? Talk to them. They feel you like them, and you really think about them every day."

Wang Xuehong said that when she first started business, she would work all night and all night.

After that, she focused on sourcing, product development and marketing.

When HTC is still a new company, she concentrates on building the right team and letting the team prepare for future challenges.

For example, she sent HTC CEO Zhou Yongming to Harvard Business School to pursue MBA (Master of Business Administration) courses to prepare for this responsibility.

Wang Xuehong said, "I always want to hire someone who can teach me something.

If they can teach me in a simple way, not only will I solve this problem, but they can do better, too.

"Focus on what you have".

Like most brothers and sisters, Wang Xuehong was sent overseas to study in high school and kept in touch with his family by fax.

When he was 15 years old, he went to the United States to study abroad, and he could hardly understand English. It would make many Taiwan girls of her age afraid, but Wang Xuehong was only interested and curious.

"Very free, there are many queer but very interesting people. I like that place."

In the 10 children of Wang Yongqing, founder and chairman of Formosa Plastics, Taiwan leading petrochemical group, Wang Xuehong was not the most likely to develop in the business world at the beginning.

In fact, she began to read music at University of California at Berkeley, and pferred to economics department only a few days later.

"If everyone is like a genius in class, and you just like to play the piano, you can only face the reality and realize yourself as early as possible.

It's very important that I don't have what I have, and that's always my attitude. "

She said.

At school, Wang Xuehong began to buy medical equipment for his father in the United States.

The hospital her father founded became a first-rate hospital in Taiwan.

Later, she undertook the task of selling computers to the mainframe computers of his sister's main board company at the San Francisco trade fair.

This task has been done very well, allowing the public to enter the field of personal computer production.

When Taiwan's labor costs began to rise, many Taiwan IT manufacturers introduced foreign workers from Southeast Asia.

Wang Xuehong adopted different strategies: in 1987, she represented mass computers to the southern part of mainland China, becoming one of the first Taiwanese companies to build manufacturing bases there.

Wang Xuehong also showed this pioneering spirit when he started his own company.

Also in 1987, Wang Xuehong and her husband, Chen Wenqi, founded a chip design company in Silicon Valley.

5 years later, they moved the company to Taiwan to become the first chip design company in Taiwan.

In 2001, Weisheng occupied 40% of the global chipset market, but it was involved in a lawsuit with Intel, which accuses it of infringing its patent rights.

Two years later, when the case was settled, the market share of Weisheng was reduced by half, and the strategy of the company was also disrupted.

Weisheng was forced to diversify.

It now ranks among the world's leading suppliers of energy-efficient processors.

It will focus more on mainland China, trying to win the market by supporting fledgling IT manufacturers, and by providing them with mobile phones and netbook platforms.

Wang Xuehong said she would like to hold a controlling stake in the company and view her company in a long-term perspective.

"If CEO is right, even if we have difficulties, we will support it."

A solid chairman likes to fly on a plane.

When HTC was founded, Wang Xuehong wanted to make PDA phones, a mini computer with mobile phone functions, but others had little interest in it.

The idea of PDA failed to cater for potential customers, but in 2000, the company got a bright prospect after it obtained the PDA contract for Compaq and HP.

Then, HTC began producing Windows based customized smartphones for mobile operators such as Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone.

At this point, HTC is only one step away from brand phone manufacturers.

Since 2006, HTC has been selling its own brand of smart phones.

Besides mobile phones based on Microsoft, it now has mobile phones based on Google platforms.

Although CEO Zhou Yongming is responsible for HTC's day-to-day operation, Wang Xuehong is a solid chairman.

She talks with Zhou Yongming at least once a day, and she goes to the company once a month to hold the two day strategic meeting.

Wang Xuehong's home is in California, but she estimated that she spent roughly the same time in the US, mainland China and Taiwan.

That means she spent a lot of time on the plane, and she said she liked it.