Text: Yu Yi
According to a recent report in Thailand, with its rich experience in the field of global communications, Abel Deng, CEO of Huawei's Thai branch, has built Huawei into a leading supplier of wireless networks and communication equipment in the world only two years after taking office. Relying on advanced 5G infrastructure, cloud computing and artificial intelligence solutions, Huawei is quietly "transforming Thailand" and helping the local economic development.
When huawei is mentioned, people will think of well-known leaders such as Ren Zhengfei and Yu Chengdong. However, in the early development of Huawei, there was a woman who also played an irreplaceable role, who was in power for 19 years, and Ren Zhengfei respected it, she was Sun Yafang.
In Huawei, Sun Yafang is the only woman under one person and above ten thousand people, although she is not the founder of Huawei, but the title of "Huawei Empress" has always accompanied her. In the 26 years of working with Ren Zhengfei, Sun Yafang did not miss every major turn of Huawei, and she worked with Ren Zhengfei to create a legendary era of "left non-right fang" with her vigorous actions.
"Left non right Fang" founded Huawei
In 1982, Sun Yafang graduated from Chengdu University of Electronic Science and Technology and was assigned to a state-owned wireless power factory in Henan Province as a technician. Three years later, due to her outstanding performance, Sun Yafang was transferred to the Beijing Institute of Information Technology Applications as a senior engineer. It can be said that in only three years, Sun Yafang firmly grasped the iron rice bowl.
In 1987, while Sun Yafang was immersed in the research institute, a small company in Shenzhen's Longgang district was struggling to set up. This small company was the later "behemoth" Huawei. At this time, Ren Zhengfei was still worried about the 20,000 yuan of the company, and Huawei stumbled in the early stage of entrepreneurship. Through the introduction of friends, Sun Yafang met Ren Zhengfei.
Listening to Ren Zhengfei's plan, Sun Yafang, who was not willing to be ordinary, resolutely quit his iron rice bowl and decided to work with a boss who was 11 years older than himself. In 1989, Sun Yafang, who had just joined Huawei, was appointed as an engineer in the marketing department by Ren Zhengfei. At Huawei, Sun Yafang once again demonstrated his rapid progress from engineer to director of Huawei's Changsha office. Later, Ren Zhengfei handed over Huawei's marketing and human resources to her, promoted her to executive vice president of marketing and human resources, and let her expand her territory.
The three departments of human resources, marketing and R&D are undoubtedly the top priorities of Huawei, while Sun Yafang has shaped Huawei's strict market system and human resources system. Under the leadership of Ren Zhengfei and Sun Yafang, Huawei rose rapidly, and for a time the company formed a pattern of "left non-right fang" joint operation.
With 7,000 resignations
In 1995, the structure of China's telecommunications equipment market began to change, and all equipment procurement in the telecommunications sector was transferred to bidding. For equipment manufacturers like Huawei, their marketing methods and human resource systems must also change from "fighting guerrillas" to "formal combat". Faced with such a big environment, Sun Yafang shocked the business community with his first shot.
In 1996, Sun Yafang, who had not yet been promoted to chairman of Huawei Group, found that there was a passive and sluggish work atmosphere within the group. At that time, Huawei had grown from an obscure small enterprise to a large company with a high reputation, and many old employees who had worked with Ren Zhengfei and Sun Yafang began to relax their hard work attitude and wanted to start enjoying life.
In the face of such a working atmosphere, Sun Yafang believed that it was necessary to rectify in time, so with ren Zhengfei's consent, Sun Yafang took the initiative to submit a resignation letter. At that time, she managed a department with 7,000 people at the company, and as the department manager, she submitted her resignation, which had a great impact on employees. In Sun Yafang's view, the company needs to carry out institutional innovation, resign and then take up the post, start from scratch, have no ability to quit, and have the ability to continue to be promoted.
As a result, under the rectification of Sun Yafang, 30% of the cadres of the marketing department were dismissed, 6 directors left their posts, and new employees took up leadership positions, which greatly improved the overall work efficiency of the marketing department. Ren Zhengfei said that Sun Yafang's leading role is indispensable, she has created a highly influential corporate culture for Huawei, and has also become the spiritual pillar of the company. At that time, there were media reports that Forbes magazine gave Sun Yafang a domineering title: market killer.
Sun Yafang's shot was a blockbuster, which was the first large-scale personnel reform in Huawei's history and a turning point in Huawei's two major support systems. A large-scale personnel reform had just been launched, and in the same year Sun Yafang began to let Huawei set up a joint venture subsidiary with the local telecommunications bureau. Then, in just two years, Huawei set up more than a dozen joint ventures.
Since then, Huawei's two major systems of human resources and marketing have been improved under the two strong promotions of Sun Yafang, which is one of the reasons for Huawei's rapid development since 1996. In 1999, due to Sun Yafang's outstanding contributions, she was elected chairman of Huawei.
Ren Zhengfei was the only accompanying person when he was seriously ill
It is precisely because of his infinite trust in Sun Yafang that Ren Zhengfei promoted her to the chairman of Huawei Group, and the two began to develop from colleagues and comrades-in-arms to an infinitely close relationship with relatives. In 2004, Ren Zhengfei suffered from very incurable skin cancer, and Apple founder Steve Jobs also suffered from this condition.
At that time, Huawei was in the midst of a period of business upswing, and Ren Zhengfei had to undergo surgery and recuperation due to this disease, and at that time, he was very afraid that he would affect the company's development. Just when he wanted to stand up to it, Sun Yafang helped him again, when Sun Yafang saw Ren Zhengfei's pain, and after learning that he needed surgery, Sun Yafang once again showed his decisive ability style.
She personally contacted a well-known local medical institution and secretly arranged for Ren Zhengfei to do surgery, because she could not let people know that the boss of the group was ill, Sun Yafang personally took care of Ren Zhengfei in front of the bed. Sun Yafang is very efficient, ren Zhengfei has been recuperating for a long time after the operation, and no one has found him hospitalized. It is precisely because of the strict control of the news that there has been no major commotion in the whole group, and the company's development is also advancing normally.
Since then, Ren Zhengfei has trusted Sun Yafang more and more and given her more corporate power. It is worth mentioning that in 2018, Sun Yafang was selected by the United States as the most powerful female entrepreneur of Chinese enterprises by leading Huawei. However, in March of the same year, Sun Yafang officially resigned as chairman of Huawei Group and chose to work behind the scenes.
For the departure of the "Huawei Empress", there are many opinions among the people. However, no matter what the truth is, it is undeniable that Sun Yafang has accompanied Huawei in its struggle for 26 years, from a nameless person to a sword to the world. Huawei created Sun Yafang, and Sun Yafang also created Huawei.
Sun Yafang once had a marriage, but it ended sloppily, and now she is 67 years old and still alone. It can be said that she has left a third of her time to Huawei. Huawei's overall future development seems to have little to do with her, but no matter where Sun Yafang is, There is always a page left for her in Huawei's history.