Meng Wanzhou, Vice Chairman, Rotating Chairman, and CFO of Huawei, is a female leader who has experienced ups and downs and made many achievements in Huawei. She is the eldest daughter of Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei, and the core promoter of Huawei's financial organization. She had endured unfounded accusations by the U.S. government and unlawful detention in Canada, but she remained steadfast in her conviction and perseverance, ultimately winning freedom and dignity. Her story is Huawei's story and the story of Chinese entrepreneurs.
Since joining Huawei in 1993, Meng Wanzhou has been committed to the construction and improvement of Huawei's financial system. She led the establishment of a globally unified financial organizational structure, processes, systems and information technology platform, and promoted the transformation of Integrated Financial Services (IFS) to achieve refined management. Under her leadership, Huawei carried out data reform and established a data management system, achieving the strategic goal of "counting out of holes". Through reform projects such as financial internal control, alignment, fund management and tax management, she has made the financial organization a business partner and value integrator, thereby supporting the rapid and stable development of the company's business on a global scale.
Meng Wanzhou is not only Huawei's chief financial officer, but also Huawei's business acumen. She has participated in many major strategic decisions and business cooperation with Huawei, such as cooperation agreements with international operators such as BT and Vodafone, as well as licensing agreements with international chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Intel. She also actively promotes Huawei's global social responsibilities, such as participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference and supporting the popularization of telecommunications in Africa.
Meng Wanzhou's contribution to Huawei was particularly prominent during the difficult period from 2020 to 2021. In the face of the US government's suppression and blockade of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou led the financial team to deal with various risks and challenges to ensure the company's capital security and operational stability. During this period, Huawei still achieved remarkable results: in 2020, it achieved revenue of 891.6 billion yuan (about 136 billion US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 3.8%; Net profit was RMB58.2 billion (US$8.9 billion), up 3.2% year-on-year; R&D investment reached RMB141.7 billion (US$21.7 billion), accounting for 15.9% of revenue3. In the first half of 2021, Huawei achieved revenue of RMB320.2 billion (US$49.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 29.4%. Net profit was RMB47 billion (US$7.2 billion), up 47.1% year-on-year.
During this time, Meng Wanzhou also personally felt the charm of Huawei's products and services. She once said in an interview with the media that the mobile phone she used is Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ 5G version, which has a very good photo effect and strong battery life. She also said that she used Huawei's smart screens, speakers, routers and other products at home and was very satisfied.
Meng reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on September 24, 2021, and returned to China on September 25. This news has attracted global attention and welcome. Speaking at Vancouver Airport, Meng said: "I am honored to be back in the embrace of my motherland. She also thanked the Chinese government, the Chinese Embassy in Canada, and all sectors of society for their concern and support for her.
After returning to China, Meng Wanzhou returned to work after the health management period and was warmly welcomed by the employees present. She said, "I'm happy to be back to work, I feel at home here. "I will continue to work hard to bring out the best in myself." ”
Meng Wanzhou's father, Ren Zhengfei, expressed his gratification and admiration for his daughter's return to China. He said, "Meng Wanzhou is back! Spring has sprung! He added, "Meng Wanzhou will continue to serve as the company's CFO, and this CFO is stronger." ”
Meng Wanzhou has helped Huawei and achieved brilliant achievements in the global market. According to statistics, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Huawei's mobile phone shipments reached 40 million units, ranking third in the global market share; In 2020, Huawei shipped 188 million mobile phones, ranking second in the global market share. In addition, in the third quarter of 2020, Huawei surpassed Samsung Electronics to become the world's largest smartphone manufacturer.
In addition to the mobile phone business, Huawei has also shown strong strength in other fields. According to the report, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Huawei's cloud service revenue reached 23 trillion yuan (about US$35.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 168%, ranking third in the world. For the whole year of 2020, Huawei's cloud service revenue reached RMB60 billion (US$9.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 168%, ranking fourth in the world. In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Huawei's global 5G base station market share reached 35%, ranking first. In 2020, Huawei won a total of 127 5G commercial contracts, playing an important role in global 5G network construction.
It can be said that Meng Wanzhou helped Huawei and created one miracle after another in the global market. She used her talent, courage and charm to showcase the demeanor of Chinese entrepreneurs. She is an excellent female leader and an admirable figure.