Cher Wang, a pioneering figure in the realm of technology and entrepreneurship, stands as a testament to innovation and perseverance. Discover her remarkable journey that led her to become one of the most influential figures in the global tech industry.
Originally appearing in Passions, Vol. 56, this article has been adapted for the digital world, available exclusively on VOICE OF ASIA.
The world over, we are chattering with one another more than ever via text, email, instant messaging, video clips, phone calls – and that powerful gadget in your hand is the portal to it all. Everyone has their favourite frontrunner in the battle for smartphone supremacy and if yours is HTC, then you have bought into the billion-dollar brand created by the US$8 billion Taiwanese Lady of Tech, Cher Wang.
She toiled early until she broke free, her opportunism could not be confined and was evident when, as part of her job for a tech company, she had to haul cases packed with computer parts she was hoping to sell. “I remember I was in France, early in the morning, and I was dragging these computer cases up and down all these stairs. I began to wonder what it would be like if the devices could be smaller and not so heavy to carry around,” she said. Driven to create what was in the boxes, Wang had the entrepreneurial fire and techspertise to match her eye for innovation. In 1997, she was ahead of the curve (a crucial business trait) as one of the first to develop the world’s first Android ‘smartphone’ that was the all-singing, all-dancing do-it-all.
Hard work and business acumen runs in her family, and it undoubtedly fuelled Wang ‘s voracity for success – something she learnt from her father, a successful Plastics mogul. “I have imagination, and it is something I want to use. I don’t understand the idea of leisure time,” she said; undoubtedly the grit she used to build a company that manufactures 1 in every 6 smartphones sold in the USA.
She is not merely a tech-maiden. She is now the chairwoman of a worldwide corporation with a tagline that reflects her out-of-the-spotlight personality – ‘Quietly Brilliant.’ Wang let her business sense do the talking, defiantly taking on the big boys of the industry with a company she built from scratch. She proved that being a tech entrepreneur is not only the domain of men in suits, and when it comes to next-generation gadgets, the grit and determination of a female provides enough ‘roar’ to commend a lioness’s share of the market.
