Tony Chen
Lei Jun
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Tony Chen
TITLE : Founder , CEO , Oppo NATIONALITY : China APPOINTED : 2004
Oppo ’ s CEO , Tony Chen , has been the guiding force behind the BBK Electronics subsidiary ’ s meteoric rise to become one of the leading lights of China ’ s smartphone industry . He helped found the company back in 2004 , and has since turned it into the country ’ s fastest-growing smartphone brand .
His unique vision for the design of Oppo phones emphasises sleek , simple designs and user-friendliness . In his new year ’ s address to Oppo ’ s shareholders , Chen elaborated that , “ The essence of good design in a market-leading smartphone lies not in our love of technical specifications but in our respect for people and our love of what they wish to achieve in their lives through our smartphones .”
“ Central to our approach is putting the user first in our design ”
03
Lei Jun
TITLE : Co-Founder , Chairman , CEO , Xiaomi
NATIONALITY : China APPOINTED : 2010
As co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi , Lei Jun has overseen one of the most successful startups in history , taking the Chinese smartphone brand from an industry upstart in 2010 to a $ 4.72bn initial public offering in 2018 . At that point , Xiaomi held a modest 8 % share of the global smartphone market . Today , Lei Jun ’ s company is close to doubling that figure , as well as pouring billions of dollars into new markets like electric cars , augmented reality , and SoCs .
Prior to founding Xiaomi , Lei Jun received a BA in computer science from Wuhan University ( which he completed in just two years ), became the CEO of Chinese tech firm Kingsoft in 1992 , and founded an online bookstore called Joyo . com , which he later sold to Amazon for $ 75mn . He is a prolific angel investor and father of two .
136 July 2021