Huawei’s Richard Yu may have the toughest job in the tech world - taking on Apple without Android
- Yu’s career success in Europe earned him a place on the company board, the small 17-person circle that has the final say on Huawei’s entire business
- Despite a stellar career, Yu’s off-the-cuff remarks have also brought him some trouble over the years
Before the high-profile US-China trade war, most senior executives at Huawei Technologies typically kept a low profile, even though the Chinese tech giant has become the world’s biggest telecoms network gear maker and beaten Apple to become the second-largest smartphone brand globally behind Samsung Electronics.
Mobile chief Richard Yu Chengdong is the exception.
Dubbed “Big Mouth Yu” by Chinese netizens because of his tendency to speak out, Yu has always been vocal about Huawei’s ambition to become top of the smartphone heap, even when the Chinese company was a minnow in a big pond.
Born in 1969, Yu earned a master’s degree from China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, before joining Huawei in 1993. Huawei declined to comment for this article.
Yu has been its 3G product director, vice-president of wireless networks, president of the wireless network product line, president of Europe, chief strategy and marketing officer, before chairing the company’s device business, according to information on Huawei’s official website. He is currently CEO of the consumer business group. which includes smartphones, laptops and other 5G-enabled devices, and has served as one of three rotating chairman at the company.
Within Huawei circles, Yu is often feted with putting the company on track to conquer Europe back in 2004.