A co-CEO structure adopted by major Taiwanese companies would not work, as it requires a dictatorship to run companies in a responsible and efficient fashion, Macronix International Co (旺宏電子) chairman and chief executive Miin Wu (吳敏求) said yesterday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest chipmaker, has tapped former co-CEO Mark Liu (劉德音) to be chairman and co-CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) to be the sole chief executive after former chair and CEO Morris Chang (張忠謀) retired in June last year.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the main assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhone series, last week indicated plans to set up a panel of top decisionmakers, as chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) aims to step down and seek the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential nomination.
Wu, who has won the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst & Young Taiwan, said that the joint leadership design would not work, as corporate operations require a dictatorship. The annual awards recognize the impact and innovations of entrepreneurs from all across the world.
“Someone has to make the ultimate decisions and step down when things do not work,” Wu said.
The 70-year-old said that he has increased the daily responsibilities of his colleagues in the hope that someone would stand out and steer the memorychip supplier when he retires.
Wu refused to name potential successors.
Calibrated executives demonstrate a willingness to invest in research and development, and embark on innovations to help the company stay competitive and profitable, Wu said.
A good company also takes good care of its employees, he added.
Macronix would not hire family members or relatives of its top executives and board directors to avoid conflicts of interests, he said.
“It is a matter of principle, fair or not,” Wu said, adding that a family-run business is not a healthy or competitive model.
The CEO related he does not read local media as he knows clients, products and the market much better than reporters do. It is important to learn things from primary sources, he said.
Wu said that he expects the US-China trade dispute to be settled later this month, as a protracted drama would hurt China’s economy.
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