Yang Yuanqing

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

Yang joined Lenovo Group in 1989. Under his leadership, Lenovo became the world’s third-largest PC company in July 2011, and has been recognized as China’s best-selling PC brand since 1997.

Thanks to his leadership, Lenovo has won a series of global recognitions in the past few years. It ranked first on Financial Times’ Top 10 Chinese Global Brands in 2008. In 2009 and 2010, it was selected as Bloomberg Businessweek’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. In 2011, Forbes ranked Lenovo as one of the Top 100 World’s Most Reputable Companies.

Yang led Lenovo in establishing a strong distribution and retail network across China. He developed a highly efficient nationwide service network, as well as pioneered the concept of “family computer.” Mr. Yang was also responsible for creating Lenovo’s unique dual business model: the Transaction Model for consumers, and Small and Medium Business (SMB) customers; and the Relationship Model that targets large enterprises customers. The dual model was later expanded to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, Yang has 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 to globalization. Since completing the acquisition, Yang has been a key driver of global integration of the new Lenovo that aims to bring out the best of both businesses. With the successful integration of both business and culture, Lenovo’s global business developed soundly and achieved impressive results.

In 2006 and 2008, Lenovo successfully sponsored the Torino Winter Olympics and the Beijing Summer Olympics as the exclusive IT equipment provider, respectively. It was the first-ever The Olympic Partner (TOP) of the International Olympic Committee from China. Lenovo’s international brand image was effectively enhanced.

Yang was the 1999 winner of the May Fourth Youth Medal, highest honor for young achievers in China awarded by All-China Youth Federation. In 1999 and 2001, he was named by BusinessWeek as one of the “Stars of Asia”. In 2003, he was selected by Chinese media as one of the “Ten Star Entrepreneurs”, and “Ten Most Valuable Managers.” Yang was also named one of CCTV’s “2004 Economic Person of the Year”. In the next year, he was ranked as one of “Asia’s 25 Most Influential Business Leaders” by Fortune Asia. Two years later, Mr. Yang was named “2007 Chinese Business Leader of the Year” by Fortune China. In December 2008, Forbes Asia voted Mr. Yang the Businessman of the Year. In 2011, Finance Asia voted Mr. Yang the Best CEO in China. On 1 May 2014, Yang received the 2014 Edison Achievement Award in San Francisco at the annual Edison Awards Gala. In 2015, Yang was listed on Forbes billionaire list.

In 2015, Yang donated $1 million to the University of North Carolina to fund biomedical research.

He graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China (“USTC”) in 1989 with a Master’s degree in Computer Science. Yang currently serves as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; a 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.