Shiren Wen

Wen Sayling was the former president of the Inventec Group. He was a successful IT entrepreneur from Taiwan who helped pave the way for Taiwan's transition into a hardware manufacturing powerhouse. In addition to his leadership of Inventec, Wen is also widely recognized for his poverty relief efforts and promotion of computer education in Western China. Wen did his undergraduate and graduate studies in electronic engineering at the National Taiwan University. In 1972, he and classmate Barry Lam, now chairman of Quanta Computer (the world's largest made-to-order notebook computer maker), founded San Ai Electronics, which made simple electronic devices such as calculators. In 1973, Wen and Lam, along with another IT entrepreneur, Rock Hsu, founded Kinpo Electronics, whose affiliate company, Compal, is now the world's second-largest made-to-order notebook PC maker. Together, the founding of these companies has helped promote Taiwan's emergence as a global leader in electronic manufacturing. In 1975, Wen and his classmate Yeh Kuo-yi founded the Inventec Group, in which Wen served as president and vice chairman. Today, the Inventec Corporation has grown to become one of the world's top computer manufacturers, making notebook computers, servers, and mobile devices, with major customers including Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu, and Siemens. In addition, the company has become one of China's largest exporters, with configuration and service centers in the United States, Europe, and Mexico, and a workforce of over 23,000 employees. Wen had a strong commitment not only to the economic development of China but also to its intellectual development. In 1998, he founded the Tomorrow Studio as a trailblazing outfit with the aim of developing digital multimedia content, publishing works for both digital and print platforms, and as a way to cultivate writers, cartoonists, and other artists. In addition, Wen established himself as a prolific writer on a wide range of subjects, with written works covering everything from digital content to the economy and ways to improve one's English skills. Wen was a strong advocate for popularizing computers in schools and using the internet as a tool to further the development of Western China. With vision and strong financial support, he launched the very ambitious 'Thousands of Local Talents' program, which sought to establish 1000 online education centers in poor village schools in 12 provinces across Western China within five years. As such, the goal of the program was to develop local talents at each school through accessing the company's website for software training. Ultimately, the program would help establish Chinese computer programming talents and future economic advancements that would otherwise be beyond the reach of locals with limited resources. Based on his personal encounters and work experience, his numerous publications include Success with Wealth and Joy, Prospect, Taiwan Experience, The East Asian Financial Crisis, Leadership, Future of the Enterprise, Future of E-commerce, Develop Western China in 10 Years, and Facing the Tofflers: Provisioning the Future. Several of his works are published in English, Japanese, and Korean.