Haier

Dialogue between East and West: CEO of Famous Chinese Enterprise and the World .. On the second and third days of April, Haier CEO Mr. Zhang Ruimin delivered speeches respectively at American Columbia University and Wirton Business College on the invitations of the two colleges. On April 3, 2001, the auditorium of American Wirton Business College was filled with people twice as many as it can hold: over 200 people gathers at the auditorium which can accommodate only 100 people; even though additional seats were added, the corridor was still crowded with many people. Haier CEO Mr. Zhang Ruimin's arrival attracted great attention from this hundred year old college. Wirton Business College was established in 1881 and is the earliest business college in the United States. The college has been listed by American News and World News Paper among the five most famous business colleges for many times since 1990. For 35 times occurred the applause and laughter during the 40-minute speech by Mr. Zhang Ruimin. Originally, two simultaneous interpreters had been arranged to interpret for Mr. Zhang in turn. However, the first interpreter, who is a senior UN counselor, completed the whole interpretation throughout the lecture all at once. "Mr. Zhang's speech is even more magnetic than the magnetic field. I was fully influenced by Mr.Zhang's philosophy. I believed that I was capable in translating Mr.Zhang's ideology as I specialized philosophy," this interpreter said meaningfully afterwards. In their communication on the issue of management, the deputy president of Forbs Magazine asked Mr. Zhang "Whom do you favor most in terms of management theory? ""One is Deruk, and the other is Bert," replied Mr. Zhang. "Whom do you favor most?" asked Mr. Zhang in return. "One is Deruk, and the other is Bert," said the deputy president of Forbs Magazine. They smiled at each other as "great minds think alike". On hearing that Haier offers internal case training to its managers once a week, a 92 year old distinguished professor said with his eyes filled with eager expression, "I hope to attend Haier's manager training very much!". Having no chance to raise questions during Mr. Zhang's speech, a student in Wirton Business College followed Mr. Zhang after the speech and asked questions all the way to the hotel restaurant. Surprisingly, that student kept waiting outside the hotel till the end of supper! After the speech, professors in Wirton Business College exchanged ideas with Mr. Zhang in the aspects of Haier's development, internationalization strategy and operating process reform. Mr. Zhang also gave an interview to World Daily and USA Today.