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HP Taiwan's new chief relishes job's challenges

Jonathan Yang (楊人捷), Hewlett-Packard (HP) Taiwan Ltd's new managing director, constantly challenges his staff with a short and simple question: Why?

HP staffers said that brief but rather hard to answer query contributed to a very tense week when Yang took over as HP Taiwan's head on June 18, but they now come to strategy meetings prepared to answer his question.

strategy

"If the sales team can answer `why' they set the sales target at a certain amount, it means they already have the whole strategy laid out," said Emily Chang (張紫珮), HP Taiwan's corporate marketing manager.

This new "why" culture constantly challenges employees on business decisions and strategies. It also signifies a change in corporate culture when the company was headed by Rosemary Ho (何薇玲), who resigned in March to devote her time to charity.

Ho, one of the nation's high-profile IT female figures, is known for her outspoken personality and wide personal network garnered from working 11 years at HP Taiwan, including her earlier days at Compaq Computer Taiwan Ltd before it was acquired by HP in 2002.

aggressive

But Yang, who doubles as California-based Hewlett-Packard's vice president, is even more aggressive given his experience working as vice president for global services at Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技), company sources said.

"I helped set up global operations for Foxconn, expanding services to 12 countries across five continents. This is where I can lend my skills to the new job," Yang told reporters on his first press conference yesterday.

The 52-year-old Yang lived in Houston, Texas, and Shenzhen, China, during his seven-and-a-half years at Foxconn, which is well known for its strict management and goal-oriented culture.

Before Foxconn, Yang worked for Digital Equipment Corp and Compaq.

After taking the helm at HP, Yang said his most urgent tasks now are visiting local suppliers and clients, and listening to the needs of employees.

Despite its smaller market size, Taiwan remains an important market for HP, Yang said.

largest buyer

Taiwan's tech suppliers are critical to HP, which is the largest foreign procurer of Taiwanese IT products, including laptop computers and servers. HP purchased approximately US$20 billion worth of products from Taiwan last year.

Set up in September 2002, its Product Development Center here has close links to the domestic technology supply chain which develops and manufactures personal computers, servers and handheld devices.

"I am ready for this job ... We will create a new peak for HP Taiwan," Yang said.
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