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Yuanqing Yang, CEO Lenovo Group Ltd.

Yuanqing Yang

CEO
Lenovo Group Ltd.

Born in November, 1964.

Yuanqing Yang is CEO of Lenovo Group Limited, responsible for the overall business strategy and operations of the company.

Yang joined Lenovo Group in 1989; he was President and CEO of Lenovo Group between 2001 and 2004; then became Chairman of Lenovo Group between 2004 and 2008. Under his leadership, Lenovo has been China's best-selling PC brand since 1997. In 1999, Lenovo PC was ranked number-one in sales in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) and has maintained this position ever since. Today, Lenovo has become one of the most valuable brands in China.

Under Yang's leadership, Lenovo made its debut on the Fortune 500 list in 2008, and was named among 10 World Class Brands from China by Financial Times. Yang led Lenovo in establishing a strong distribution and retailing network across China, developing a highly efficient nationwide service network, as well as pioneering the concept of the “family computer.” Yang was also responsible for creating Lenovo's industry leading business model targeting SMEs, consumer customers, and other transactional customers.

At the same time, Yang has also played a key role in Lenovo's transformation into a global company. Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's PC business in December 2004 put the company on a fast track of globalization. Since completing the acquisition, Yang has been a key driver of the global integration of the new Lenovo aiming at bringing out the best of both businesses. With the successful integration of its global business and culture, Lenovo's global business developed soundly and achieved impressive results. At the same time, Lenovo successfully sponsored the 2006 Torino Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as the exclusive IT equipment provider, and was the first-ever TOP partner of the International Olympic Committee originated from China.

Yang was the 1999 winner of the highest honor for young achievers, the May Fourth Youth Medal of China, awarded by All-China Youth Federation. In 1999 and 2001, he was named by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the year's “Stars of Asia.” In 2003, he was selected by Chinese media as one of 2002's “Ten Star Entrepreneurs” and “Ten Most Valuable Managers.” He was also named one of the “CCTV 2004 Men of the Year in the Business Community,” and voted one of “Asia's 25 Most Influential Business Leaders” by Fortune Asia edition in 2005. In January 2008, he was named “Chinese Business Leader of the Year in 2007” by Fortune Chinese edition. In December 2008, he was named by Forbes Asia as Businessman of the Year.

He graduated from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1989 with a master's degree. He is also a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Director of China's Entrepreneurs' Association, a guest professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, and a member of the New York Stock Exchange's International Advisory Committee.