Dong Mingzhu
| Dong Mingzhu | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | 董明珠 |
| Residence | Zhuhai, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Occupation | Chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances |
| Children | 1 son |
Dong Mingzhu (Chinese: 董明珠; pinyin: Dǒng Míngzhū) (born 1954) is a Chinese businesswoman. She is the Chairwoman of Gree Electric. In 2013, Dong was named one a Forbes Asia "Woman in the Mix" for business. The New York Times called her "one of the toughest businesswomen in China."
Dong was born the youngest of seven children in a working class family. When she was a child, she wanted to be a soldier. Dong graduated from a specialized institute in Wuhu, Anhui province in 1975 with a major in Statistics. After graduation, Dong an administrative job at a government chemistry laboratory in Nanjing for 15 years.
In 1990, at age 36, recently widowed Dong left her three year old son with his grandmother and quit her job at the government research facility in order to move to the more economically developed Zhuhai in Guangdong province and find new work.
Joining Haley (Gree Electric's predecessor) as a salesperson, she made her mark from the start, recovering massive debts in a little over month. From then on, her increasing accomplishments gained notice from higher ups and promotions came in quick succession. By 1994, Dong was made head of sales, where she innovated the sales process. This determined flexibility would become one of her most notable characteristics throughout her career. By the time Gree Electric went public in 1996, Dong was deputy president, and later company president in 2001. In 2012, she gained the position of Gree Electric's chairwoman as well. She was also the chairwomen of Gree Electric's parent company Gree Group until November 2016.
Dong has transformed Gree Electric under her management, developing it into the world's largest household air conditioning unit maker, and China's largest household appliance maker (generating a record breaking 140 billion Yuan revenue in 2014). Dong also played a key role in shifting Gree Electric's sales from traditional to online, which contributed significantly to the company's 2014 record breaking revenue. Gree Electric's company stock has risen 2300% during her stay.
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