Ren Zhengfei is a Chinese entrepreneur and electronics engineer. He was born in Zhenning County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, on October 25, 1944 to a teacher couple.
Ren spent his primary and middle school years in a remote mountainous town before attending the Chongqing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture (now Chongqing University) in the 1960s.
Ren Zhengfei stands at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen. /VCG Photo
After graduation, Ren joined the civil engineering industry until 1974 when he joined the military's engineering corps as a technician to establish the Liao Yang Chemical Fiber Factory. Ren moved up the ranks, becoming an engineer responsible for a number of technological achievements. He was later promoted to deputy director.
Ren was invited to attend the National Science Conference in 1978 for his outstanding performance and joined the Communist Party of China at the age of 33. In 1982, he attended the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as a representative. After his retirement from the army in 1983, Ren worked at the Shenzhen South Sea Oil Corporation for a couple of years.
In 1987, Ren decided to establish Huawei, which has now become a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider. Ren became CEO a year after the company’s foundation and has held the position ever since.