Around the World with Gary Wang

Gary Wang exudes the air of a typical IT executive: wearing a pressed blue suit, toting a black briefcase, a Bluetooth earphone clipped over his ear, talking on his cell phone as he strides into the Science and Technology Division at San Francisco's Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. This time he intends to stay in Silicon Valley for three weeks.

In 2002, 3Com launched a joint venture with Shenzhen-based Huawei--known as "China's Cisco"--forming the Huawei-3Com company. Its headquarters was established in Hangzhou, with 3Com making an initial investment of US$160 million, a 49% share.

The SARS scare broke out as they were about to put their plans into action, and nobody from the head office dared go to China. The 3Com CEO had no choice but to go himself to the negotiations in Beijing, risking his own life. There were only three passengers in the first class section of the 747, and during the first visit of the American CEO to the Great Wall he found the place deserted and easy to walk around.

In 2005, 3Com bought an additional 2% share, becoming the biggest shareholder in the company. "Well, I can't stay in America forever. Someone has to go there and take up the reins," said Gary Wang, 3Com's most senior Chinese-American executive, with a wry smile. He said he had the "honor" of being selected and had no choice but to leave his family behind and go himself, bringing along a ten-member management team. Thus began his globetrotting career as vice president for the China region.

Specializing in top-of-the-line routers and switches, Huawei-3Com started out with 700 employees, bringing in US$80 million in operating revenues during the first year. By last year it had grown into a US$440 million business with its personnel soaring to 4000. The company has gradually caught up to Cisco China, the country's largest network equipment company, in its share of the Chinese market.

"Just as in auto racing, it's relatively easy to follow the leading car because of wind resistance. Then you can sprint to victory before you reach the finish line. But in a long-term race like this, we can't tell which one has the true advantage," says Wang. The Chinese market is so big that it takes a great deal of effort to beat the leader, but the returns are not necessarily great.

Gary Wang has a zest for life, engaging in basketball, golf and martial arts. He is also a cartoonist in his off-hours, depicting the life of a Silicon Valley technician with humor and absurdity.

Fly higher, see farther

A devout Buddhist, Gary Wang says of his move from Taiwan to the US, his long stay in the US and his return to Asia, "It's karma."

In 1982, Wang, a graduate of National Chiao Tung University in telecommunications engineering, traveled from Taiwan to Arizona State University to begin his life as an international student.

During his doctoral studies he served as a research assistant. The project his advisor was working on involved national defense, and he was astonished when, some time later, his advisor said the military deemed Wang unfit to take part in such a sensitive project since he was a foreigner. So he drove non-stop from Arizona to Cali-fornia's Silicon Valley to find another way.

After finding work, he returned to the university to gather his belongings and told his advisor, "I'll come back and finish my PhD after I become a US citizen."

Once he entered 3Com in 1987, things started going smoothly. He once wrote a business plan for his manager and said, "If you like this idea, put me in charge." The manager thought for a moment and asked him to go and persuade the company president, which he succeeding in doing, to his amazement. He then mustered several senior engineers for his team, forming the Testing Systems R&D Department, which designs and manufactures automatic testing systems for Ethernet cards.

Wang founded another department in 1993: the Mobile Communications Department. Though at first his business plan was not approved by the company's CFO due to insufficient market data, Wang was confident that the growing notebook computer trend would spur demand for network equipment. After arguing his case, he received special authorization from a senior vice president and began developing new products.

Happily the economy was surging at that time, and surprisingly they were able to achieve in two years the goals that they had predicted would take at the very least five. By the fifth year--1997--business had reached US$1 billion. This new department became 3Com's most lucrative, with a profit margin of over 65%. Wang was promoted to vice president in 1996.

Where am I?

In his 18 years with 3Com, Wang has rarely remained in the same department for more than three years.

In 2003, 3Com moved its headquarters to Boston, and Wang had to fly between China, Boston and Silicon Valley, and sometimes go to Taiwan and the UK on business. His air mileage was comparable to circling the globe once a month.

He is often asked, "How do you deal with jet lag?" He could only reply, "I'm so busy I don't even know what time zone to adjust to!" China, the UK and the west coast of the US happen to be separated from one another by 8 hours, and sometimes when he is suddenly awoken by an international call in the dead of the night, he does not know where he is!

Wang says his "survival instinct" is to force himself to sleep as soon as he boards the plane. He avoids watching movies and doing other things, otherwise he will regret it as soon as he disembarks.

In addition he needs to know where the wireless hotspots are in the San Francisco, Beijing and Hong Kong international airports. His cell phone and computer must connect within 30 seconds, and since videoconferencing and e-mailing cannot be interrupted, data must be transmittable and receivable at any time. He also has to familiarize himself with airport facilities as if they are his home, including where lounges, massage chairs and shower facilities are, and what terminal he should be in so he can board the plane quickly.

Having lived in warm, sunny California for nearly 20 years, Gary Wang's lifestyle has become quite westernized. So when he first came to China he experienced culture shock. Unused to the new environment, he felt as if he were making great sacrifices.

Last summer when he was playing golf, the high temperature and humidity made him and his American colleagues feel as if their hearts would go into shock with every step, and he thought deep down to himself, "How absurd would it be if I died on a Chinese golf course!"

When Chinese people see his Asian features, they automatically assume he likes Chinese food; in fact, he is just like his American colleagues--after five days he can no longer stomach oily Chinese fare.

Even more amusing was that his American colleagues, to the chagrin of Wang who had not seen a squat toilet in 20 years, asked him, "How do you use it? Do I have to take my pants off? How far do I pull them down? Which way do I face?" His portly American associates did not have the leg strength, so using a squat toilet was an ordeal. Such solemn details of life were a real test for them.

As to management, the biggest challenge was how to strike a balance between local thinking and American business strategy.

"I'm a Western-style thinker. But in China nowadays people still do not respect laws or contracts very much," Wang says. They are also not able to make full use of American concepts of control; otherwise they would lose out on the advantages of the local setting. To achieve the goals expected by the US headquarters through local employees, local culture and local management styles, is an arduous task indeed.

"In the past ten years, the rise of China has been a win-win situation for the world because China's domestic resources helped American and European businesses ride out the recession. Now the pace of China's development is showing no signs of slowing." Wang mentions that China consumes half the world's pork, 35% of its steel and 8% of its petroleum, some surprising figures. But the pace of China's outward expansion did not come as a matter of course--it has been a toilsome process. Thus it is imperative to hire international talent: overseas Chinese with the ability to speak both Chinese and English. Many of these people are from Silicon Valley as well as the Monte Jade Science and Technology Association formed by Taiwanese-Americans.

Wang has a busy itinerary as he crisscrosses the globe, but this slim-built 50-year-old walks at a vigorous pace, the result of years of qigong, martial arts and meditation. When he is too busy to exercise, he attaches ten pounds of lead weights to his legs, giving him plenty of exercise each day.

As a committed Buddhist, Wang takes his career in stride: if it works out, then go; if not, then come back. Some day he might even go to India, with its burgeoning market, continuing his globetrotting career.