Meng Wanzhou joined Huawei in 1993, starting as a receptionist at the front desk, and then promoted all the way.Many believe that Meng Wanzhou will succeed her father as Huawei's CEO.Ren Zhengfei has denied this.
Who is Meng Wanzhou?She's an accountant, a mother and the chief financial officer of one of China's largest and most secretive conglomerates -- but most importantly, she's the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, a former military officer.
According to Huawei, Ren Zhengfei's experience is a classic story of flying on a branch and becoming a phoenix.He was born in a remote mountainous area, and his parents were both teachers. Later, he joined the army and became a construction soldier. He was promoted to the rank of deputy regiment, but he did not have a military rank.
When his branch was abolished, Ren Zhengfei was demobilized and changed jobs, and founded Huawei in 1987 with about $3,000 in capital.
By contrast, his daughter, Meng Wanzhou, joined Huawei in 1993, starting as a receptionist and working her way up to a series of senior roles.Meng Wanzhou was Huawei's vice chairman when she was arrested in Canada on Saturday.
As chief financial officer, she oversees Huawei's finances.Huawei has 180,000 employees, achieved revenue of 325.7 billion yuan (US$47.4 billion) in the first half of 2018, and is expected to sell 200 million smartphones this year — Huawei’s mobile phone shipments surpassed Apple’s in the second quarter of this year-- and plans to spend up to $20 billion a year on research and development.Last year, Huawei spent $13.8 billion on research and development, equivalent to 15 percent of total sales.
Many see Meng taking the role as preparation for her ultimate role: succeeding her 74-year-old father as chief executive of Huawei.Ren Zhengfei denied this, saying in an interview with the China Economic Times: How can one person decide how to do this?From the day it was founded, Huawei has established a line of appointing people on their merits, not cronyism.
Meng Wanzhou holds a master's degree in management from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (now Huazhong University of Science and Technology) in China.Her husband was not in the telecommunications industry and she had two young children, she told the Beijing News in 2013.
She also said that she originally planned to study abroad and received an admission letter, but her visa was rejected because she was considered immigrant.
As a Chinese citizen, Meng Wanzhou, like her father, holds a Hong Kong identity card.
Additional reporting by Nian Liu and Yang Yuan from Beijing, Nicolle Liu from Hong Kong and Xi Jialin from Taipei.
Translator/He Li
