#1 Chinese Tech Giants : Qing Liu
Qing Liu is what people call a calm force. She might not be the loudest, yet every time the president of Didi Chuxing talks, a religious silence falls upon the room. Behind the soft voice and small frame lies the leader who masterminded the merger between Didi Dache and Kuaidi, the two largest car-sharing applications in China in a record of just 22 days. She enabled Didi Chuxing to now be valued at $33 billion, thereby passing Airbnb, Snapchat and Pinterest.
Born 39 years ago in Beijing, Qing Liu is the daughter of Chuanzhi Liu, founder of Lenovo — the largest technology company in China. Growing up around and under the mentorship of China’s leading tech innovators, Liu was born to succeed. Her acceptances to Peking University followed by Harvard University, some of the most prestigious universities in the world were neither a shocker, nor was her decision to study computer science. Indeed, both her father and idol Bill Gates had studied the subject during their university years.
18 Rounds Of Interviews
Her choice of career probably surprised more than one. With her father leading one of the most renowned companies in China and the world, one could have assumed Qing Liu would have joined the family enterprise and quickly mounted the ranks of Lenovo. But, Liu’s father insisted none of his children join Lenovo. Furthermore for the people closest to her, seeing Liu deciding to apply for an investment banking position as Goldman Sachs only further showed her determination and willpower to make it on her own in a difficult and competitive field. As she recalls, it took 18 rounds of interviews including a last round where she was asked to sing a Celine Dion classic before she was given the holy grail — a job offer as a junior analyst.
Liu’s time at Goldman Sachs perfectly reflects her tenacity. For someone who happened to be born in China’s tech royalty, it would have been easy at any point to quit and find a position within the family firm or at a family friend’s company. He instilled in her the value of hard work and independence and encouraged her to become an entrepreneur. Qing Liu grew up with this desire to make it on her own and find her own path.
“I was 24 and looked 42”
Indeed, if Liu were an Olympic athlete, she would most definitely be a long-distance track runner: focused, tenacious and fully confident in her ability to surmount any obstacle that comes her way. Workaholic, indeed. To better understand this comparison, take a look at her early career at Goldman Sachs: when asked, the young investment banker who worked up to 140 hours a week was quoted saying: “I was 24 and looked 42”. Yet, she steadfastly continued to apply herself to the task for over 12 years by working overtime and joining the boards of countless companies across different industries, to eventually become one of their youngest managing directors. Qing Liu is a tenacious woman who is not afraid impose herself in careers usually dominated by men.
One can imagine that her time at Goldman Sachs helped her prepare for one of her biggest professional challenges: Didi Dache. It was during her time at Goldman Sachs that Liu first became acquainted with the startup. In September 2013, Didi had already peaked Liu’s interest and the Goldman Sachs managing director was interested in investing in the tech startup. Their refusal did not deter Liu, who came back in June 2014 with a Goldman Sachs team. At the time, the startup was already successful and had over 43% of the market share- so much that Goldman Sachs was hoping to invest in its early stages. Didi’s reluctance and eventual second refusal to accept Goldman Sach’s offer convinced Liu the startup was an opportunity she could not pass. She met with Cheng Wei, CEO of Didi, and told him “you don’t let me invest, then met me work for you”. Four months later, Qing Liu would quit the banking world to take on the challenge of a lifetime: to join Didi Dache as Chief Operating Officer in 2014.
Women Hold Half The Sky
As Mao famously said: “Women hold half the sky”. This statement could not be more true than in the case of the collaboration between Cheng Wei, CEO of Didi and Qing Liu.
As the bilingual face of the company, Qing Liu has been put forward by Cheng Wei as the Didi ambassador for all things international. First, as COO, Liu led the government relations, public relations and new business initiatives and helped develop the Didi Black function (similar to Uber black, where customers can request higher quality cars). Her pivotal role at Didi during the first 6 months of her time at the company allowed her to be the first person to be promoted to the role of President in February 2015.
Qing Liu has been an invaluable asset to Cheng Wei. Firstly, her extensive banking experience and wide professional network enabled Didi Dache and Kuaidi to merge on February 14th, 2015 and create the largest car-hailing application in China with 90% of the Chinese market share.
Moreover, the Didi CEO heavily relied on Liu during their battle with Uber. This quiet force secured after two years of hard work, a partnership with Uber’s competitor Lyft as well as a $1 billion investment from the American tech giant, Apple to win against Uber’s market entry. However, defeating Uber was no easy task. Both companies burned through over $1 billion a year each in order to outdo one another by subsidizing their drivers, offering free rides and spending large sums on marketing for investors and customers.
Uber vs Didi
In the end, Uber had no choice but to sell its China operations to Didi in echange for a measly 20% stake in Didi. For a tech giant such as Uber, with a leader like Travis Kalanick known for his aggressive and successful market entry strategy, losing in China and more specifically to Qing Liu was a true game changer.
“Competition makes you stronger… It makes you more focused.”
Under her poised demeanor lies a savvy and competitive businesswoman who has turned an already promising application into a business case study for the books and an indispensable tool for most Chinese drivers and consumers. Indeed over 80% of cab drivers use the app that is implemented in already 400 Chinese cities. Just try…and you’ll see its dominance firsthand.
China’s rapid urbanization has changed the way Chinese city dwellers view mobility. In Shanghai for example, the population of the city increased nearly threefold between 1990 and 2015 , from 7.8 million to 23 million people. This trend did not only apply to major cities but also smaller communities in the country. The ever-growing population of modern cities mixed with poor driving conditions such as high traffic and tighter driving regulations, as well as increasing costs of living push a rising number of Chinese people to forgo investing in car ownership.
Furthermore, the younger generations are facing dangerously increasing pollution levels, which have at times hovered 12 times over the level recommended by the World Health Organization and thus, tend to favor more eco-friendly transportation alternatives. While there was a time where car ownership meant a higher socio-economic status, today’s young professionals prioritize more convenient and less expensive options.
Nowadays, Didi Chuxing is more than an app, it is a lifestyle that represents the new China — with millennials bypassing traditional methods and simply logging onto their smartphones to access countless opportunities. This is a generation that is not about compromise but direct and straightforward answers to any questions.
Always Shining
True to the new generation, it is via an internal email that the married mother of three announced in September 2015 that she was undergoing breast cancer treatment. “I have been at Didi for 14 months,” Liu wrote in the e-mail. “Even though I have cancer, it will not stop me from leading what I consider to be a great company. I will continue to support Cheng Wei (CEO of Didi Chuxing), and everyone in the company. Like the brightest star in the night, I will continue to shine－we will all continue to shine.”
In the same fashion, she announced via Weibo in December 2015: “Friends at Didi, please expect me at the end of the month” in order to swiftly quiet the rumors she might be stepping down from her position. Today, Didi Chuxing is undeniably the largest mobile transportation service offering in the world. While Uber needed 5 years to surpass the 1 billion rides mark, Didi exploded that record in 12 months in 2015. Today, the app partners with 20 million vehicles from yellow cabs to large buses and handles over 20 million orders everyday in 400 cities around China.
Although Uber undeniably has a larger footprint across many countries on different continents, Qing Liu does not forget her end goal: to take Didi global — just like she did in the Middle Kingdom.
A New Generation of Chinese Tech Leaders
As one of the few female presidents of important companies in China, Qing Liu represents this new generation of young women leaders who have imposed the Middle Kingdom’s companies as major players on the national and international scene. However, we must not forget that Liu is not representative of the current situation of women in the workforce in China. As of 2014, women represent only 1.7% of boards and only 3.2% of CEO positions in China.
As she copilots a company of 5,000 employees, Qing Liu has shown the new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs that China is force to be reckoned with — that the new crop of Chinese startups were not mere copies of successful Western ventures but trailblazers able to take on and win the markets against international companies. Her selection by the Chinese general public, as one of the Olympic torch bearers for the Rio Games of 2016 highlights the admiration coming from people all over China who have been inspired by her tenacity, strength and success.
