Ren Zhengfei
Born 1944 · Age 81
Chinese engineer and entrepreneur; founder and long-time CEO of Huawei Technologies, a global telecommunications equipment and smartphone manufacturer.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Zhenning County, Guizhou
Ren Zhengfei was born in Zhenning County, Guizhou Province, China, into a rural family of schoolteachers.
Teenage years during Great Famine
Experienced severe poverty and food shortages during the 1959–62 famine; family rationing practices shaped his character.
Suffered family hunger during provincial famine
While in his third year of high school, Ren's family faced extreme starvation; he implemented strict food distribution to keep siblings alive.
Admitted to Chongqing Institute of Architectural Engineering
Enrolled to study building services (civil/architectural engineering) at Chongqing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture (later part of Chongqing University).
Cultural Revolution disruption and father's dismissal
During the Cultural Revolution Ren's father was criticized and dismissed for prior work; Ren experienced harassment (pushed off a train by Red Guards) while returning home.
Graduated and assigned to PLA infrastructure unit
Graduated from university and was assigned to the 304th Battalion of the 31st Detachment of the Infrastructure Engineering Corps to work on aircraft-factory construction.
Army service continuation (policy-driven)
Obeyed nationwide policy directing college students into army training; continued serving in engineering/technical roles in the PLA.
Daughter Meng Wanzhou born
Meng Wanzhou (also known as Sabrina Meng), Ren's daughter from his first marriage, was born in 1972; later became CFO of Huawei.
Established Liaoyang Petrochemical Fiber General Factory / drafted into PLA Engineering Corps
Involved in establishing Liaoyang Petrochemical Fiber General Factory; served in the 22nd detachment of the PLA Infrastructure Engineering Corps as a technician/engineer focused on chemical-industry automation.
Joined the Chinese Communist Party
Became a member of the CCP shortly after participating in the National Science Conference.
Attended National Science Conference
Attended the National Science Congress in Beijing (one of ~6,000 delegates), a sign of recognition for his technical work.
Military downsizing; moved to Shenzhen and joined Southern Oil Group
Following PLA readjustment and transfer to a research base, Ren retired from army service and relocated to Shenzhen; his wife worked at Shenzhen Southern Oil Group; he later transferred into the group's electronics businesses.
Attended 12th National Congress of the CCP
Attended the 12th National Congress (1982), reflecting continued political engagement.
Appointed deputy general manager at a Southern Oil Group electronics company
Took a managerial role in an electronics subsidiary of Shenzhen Southern Oil Group.
Defrauded of >2 million yuan; resigned
Says he was cheated out of more than RMB 2,000,000 by a businessman while earning a very small monthly salary; this led to his resignation and personal financial hardship.
Divorced first wife; extreme personal hardship
After the resignation and financial setback Ren divorced his first wife, rented a very small house and lived with parents/relatives; period of personal and financial rebuilding.
Founded Shenzhen Huawei Technology Co., Ltd.
Co-founded Huawei in Shenzhen with partners; company capital reportedly CNY 21,000 at formation (per Huawei corporate profile).
Early revenue: selling HAX program-controlled switches
Huawei's initial commercial revenue was generated by selling HAX (program-controlled) switches on consignment; later shifting to local assembly and R&D.
Became President / CEO of Huawei
Appointed president/CEO of Huawei (he has been president/CEO since 1988 and remains a key executive).
Started promoting BH03 switch
Following early R&D and assembly work, Huawei promoted the BH03 switch as part of product expansion efforts.
Assembled Huawei program-controlled switch
In September 1991 Ren and employees assembled a Huawei program-controlled switch, supporting product development and initial competitiveness.
Ren's brother Ren Shulu joined Huawei
Ren Shulu (Steven Ren), born 1956, joined Huawei in 1992 and later served on Huawei's Supervisory Board and headed logistics support.
Academic outreach and talent recruitment
Invited professors/students from Huazhong University, Tsinghua and others to visit Huawei to strengthen R&D ties and recruit talent.
Meng Wanzhou joined Huawei
Meng Wanzhou began working at Huawei in 1993 and later rose to become CFO.
1992 summary meeting; strategic decision to enter public telephones
Early 1993 meeting of 270 employees concluded R&D focus and decision to enter public telephone and telecommunications markets using switch technology.
Introduced employee share/ownership mechanisms and talent awards
Implemented an employee shareholding-like system (converting wages into company shares/units) and set up talent referral/recruitment awards to attract and retain staff.
Awarded 100 gold medals to outstanding employees and partners
At an early company meeting Ren personally presented 100 gold medals to outstanding employees and a Hong Kong supporting partner as recognition and morale-building.
Launched JK1000 office telephone
In May 1993 Ren presided over marketing meeting and launched the JK1000 office telephone; more than 200 units sold initially.
Father Ren Musheng died
Ren's father passed away in 1995 (reported as dying from complications after consuming a street-bought beverage that caused illness).
Pursued staged international expansion strategy
Outlined a four-stage international expansion plan (Hong Kong → Russia & South America → Southeast Asia/Middle East/Africa → developed countries) and implemented globalization of management, R&D, talent, sales and culture.
Partnered with Hutchison Telecom for international push
Partnered with Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Telecom to provide commercial network products and narrow-band switches as a route to international markets.
Began globalization and management reform (hired IBM etc.)
Launched 'Huawei globalization' strategy; engaged IBM and other international firms to reform R&D, supply chain, HR, finance and quality systems to prepare for overseas expansion.
Formed Huawei basic law drafting group
Invited professors to form a group to draft a corporate 'basic law' to formalize Huawei governance; drafting began in March 1996 and was completed by 1998.
Signed joint venture in Ufa, Russia (BertoHuawei)
Ren traveled to Ufa, Russia, for signing ceremony of a joint venture (referred to as 'BertoHuawei') to expand into the Russian market.
Huawei basic law completed; internal leadership changes
Huawei's basic law was finalized by 1998; internal reorganizations and management transfers took place amid leadership contention.
Meng Wanzhou earned master's degree
Meng Wanzhou obtained a master's degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1998.
Forbes ranked Ren among China's richest (approx. $500M)
In 2000 Forbes ranked Ren third among the 50 richest people in China, estimating his personal wealth at around USD 500 million.
Mother Cheng Yuanzhao died in traffic accident
Ren's mother was fatally injured in a car accident in Kunming in January 2001; Ren later wrote a long remembrance 'My Father and Mother' (Feb 8, 2001).
Published 'My Father and Mother' (internal piece)
Authored and published a long, personal memoir/tribute to his parents (first published internally in Huawei's employee media and later circulated publicly).
Withdrew license previously granted to Harbor Network
Faced with competition and employee poaching from Harbor Network Company, Ren withdrew Huawei's sales license for Harbor and took steps to block its Hong Kong operations.
Cisco filed complaint in U.S. federal court
Cisco Systems filed a complaint alleging improper use of Cisco source code by Huawei (case filed in Marshall, Texas); a neutral expert later found that Cisco source code had been used.
Neutral expert found Cisco source code traces in Huawei products (litigation)
In the Cisco v. Huawei complaint a neutral expert identified that Cisco source code had been used in Huawei products; the dispute evolved over years and became part of public legal/PR battles.
Acquired Harbor Shenzhen voice teams (reported)
Reportedly brought entire voice teams from Harbor's Shenzhen research institute into Huawei for 1 million (currency unspecified in source; likely CNY).
Included in Time 100 list
Ren Zhengfei was listed among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world (2005).
Met with Li Yinan at Huawei 3Com HQ in Hangzhou
Met Li Yinan (former Harbor executive) at Huawei 3Com headquarters in Hangzhou as part of ongoing personnel and partnership dealings.
Public scrutiny and national security concerns begin to intensify internationally
By late 2000s, multiple national governments expressed security concerns about Huawei and Ren's alleged links to the PLA; this influenced deals (e.g., SoftBank-Sprint) and regulatory treatment.
Reported 1.42% stake in Huawei valued at ~$450M
Reports indicate Ren held 1.42% of Huawei shares, valued at about USD 450 million in 2010 (note: Huawei ownership structure is opaque and employee-owned).
Entered Forbes rich list: net worth $1.1B
Forbes listed Ren in its global rich list (2011) with a reported net worth of approximately USD 1.1 billion (ranked ~1056th globally / 92nd in China).
SoftBank-Sprint deal fallout over security concerns
Huawei was effectively excluded from certain partnerships/deals after U.S. national-security concerns—SoftBank severed or downgraded Huawei involvement in its Sprint deal process.
Huawei annual revenue ~US$92.5 billion
Huawei reported an annual revenue figure of approximately USD 92.5 billion for 2017—marking a major corporate milestone under Ren's leadership.
Daughter Meng Wanzhou arrested (international incident)
Meng Wanzhou (Huawei CFO and Ren's daughter) was arrested in Canada in December 2018 on a U.S. extradition request related to alleged sanctions violations; this became an international legal and diplomatic issue.
Daughter Annabel Yao debuted at Le Bal des Débutantes and studied at Harvard
Ren's daughter by his second wife, Annabel Yao (born ~1997), made a high-profile debut at Le Bal in 2018 and was described as a ballet dancer and computer science student at Harvard as of Dec 2018.
Named among '100 Outstanding Private Entrepreneurs' (40 years of Reform)
Recognized as one of the 100 outstanding private entrepreneurs in the 40 years of China's Reform and Opening-up (2018).
Forbes Global Rich List: net worth ~US$1.3B
Forbes listed Ren with an estimated net worth of approximately USD 1.3 billion in April 2021.
Ongoing CEO role and public profile
As of the latest public corporate profiles, Ren remains a director and the CEO/founding leader who shaped Huawei's corporate strategy and culture.
Key Achievement Ages
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