Dong Mingzhu (; born August 1954) is a Chinese businesswoman who serves as Chairwoman of

Gree Electric Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai is a Chinese major appliance manufacturer headquartered in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. It is the world's largest residential air-conditioner manufacturer.Businessweek.com." ''Guangdong Visions: Forging Ch ...

Early life

Dong Mingzhu was born the youngest of seven children in a working-class family in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, capital of

east China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Govern ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

province, in August 1954. When she was a child, she wanted to be a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, doctor or teacher. Dong graduated from a specialized institute in Wuhu, Anhui in 1975, with a degree in Statistics. After graduation, Dong got an administrative job at local government chemistry

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physic ...

in Nanjing for 15 years.

Career

In 1990, at age 36, recently widowed Dong left her three-year-old son to his grandmother and quit her job at the government research facility in order to move to the more economically developed

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province and to find a new job, but moved to

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pear ...

soon. Joining Haley (Gree Electric's predecessor) as a salesperson, she made her mark from the start, recovering massive debts in a little over one month. By 1994, Dong was made head of sales, where she upgraded sales process. 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 chairwoman of Gree Electric's parent company

Gree Group Zhuhai Gree Group Co., Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise based in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. The enterprise was owned and supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of . Gree Group was the paren ...

until November 2016. During her tenure, Dong developed Gree Electric 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). Gree Electric's sales shifted from traditional to online, contributing significantly to the company's 2014 record breaking revenue. Gree Electric's company stock has risen 2300% during her stay. Under her leadership, Gree Electric developed solar energy, China's

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

market, robotic technology, recycled treatment centers nationwide, and acquired electric car maker Yinlong in March 2016. In January 2019, she was reelected chairwoman of Gree Electric. 2 months later, she applied a cut on value-added taxes to reach more competitive prices and aim for an aggressive international development despite the US-China trade war going on. Dong has displayed a strong nationalistic streak over the year, and has been a member of the 10th, 11th, and 12th

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

. She is a member of the China Democratic National Construction Association, as well as a member of the 10th Executive Committee of All-china Women's Federation. Dong currently holds senior positions in a dozen industry, women's and charity organizations, and has taught university business classes. In 2021, Fortune the most influential women in the world ranked seventh.

Prizes

*2015: 4th most powerful woman in Asia-Pacific by '' Fortune'' magazine *2014,2015: Most Influential Chinese Businesswomen by ''Fortune'' magazine *2013: "Woman in the Mix" for business by ''

Forbes Asia ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also rep ...

'' *2006: "Magnificent 10" economic leaders in China

Personal life

Dong married soon after graduating from university, but was widowed when her son turned two-year-old. Her husband died of illness in 1984. Her son nicknamed "Dongdong" (). She never remarried. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called her "one of the toughest businesswomen in China." In 2018,

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

mistakenly accused Dong of

jaywalking Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway that has traffic, other than at a designated crossing point, or otherwise, in disregard of traffic rules. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phras ...

because her face was featured in an advertisement on the side of a bus and inaccurately flagged by a

facial recognition system A facial recognition system is a technology capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and ...

Published work

*''Regretless Pursuit'', 2006, which was made into a television series on China Central Television.

References

Bibliography

External links

Interview with Dong Mingzhu
via Dialogue
Dong Mingzhu
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dong, Mingzhu Living people Chinese women chief executives Businesspeople from Nanjing 1954 births Businesspeople in electronics Chinese women writers Delegates to the 13th National People's Congress Delegates to the 12th National People's Congress Delegates to the 11th National People's Congress Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress Members of the China National Democratic Construction Association