CEO – Huawei Technologies Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd.

EVOLVE: You have been working in Huawei Technologies for more than a decade in various countries. Please share your views about people in Pakistan and your experience of working in an entirely different socio economic and cultural environment?

Meng Qiang: The people of Pakistan have been extremely pleasant, this holds true both for our Pakistani colleagues as well as anyone I’ve interacted with outside of the company, they’ve been extremely hospitable and have shown me great friendship. Despite only having been here a short time, I already feel like I’m at home.

It is an honor to lead Huawei in Pakistan, where there is significant opportunity for our solutions to contribute towards ‘Digital Pakistan’ and the creation of new skillsets for young people. I want to thank all the friends who have supported us in the past 22 years and I am expecting your continuous support in the coming days.

ICT is hugely important to any country’s economic development, Pakistan is no exception to this. Pakistan is a very youthful country, and nations with high levels of connectivity are poised to benefit from technologies like AI, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, and more, which will unlock new venues of growth and innovation and uplift organizations to great heights of prosperity

EVOLVE: How have Huawei services been providing the ultimate computing strength to its consumers? What is most important to your organization- mission, vision or values?

Meng Qiang: With the increasing convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Communications Technology (CT), Huawei has put in place a three-pronged strategy of "Cloud-Pipe-Device" to provide comprehensive solutions to telecommunications carriers, enterprises and customers, to expand the horizons of telecommunications industry and to contribute to the development and rise of the Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry.

Huawei's vision is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei is committed to making this intelligent world a reality and extending the benefits of digital technology and AI to every person, home, and organization, so its value is accessible to all, whether it’s in life, work, education, or fitness.

EVOLVE: You became CEO of Huawei Technologies (Pakistan). What made you the right person for this job. And what was the mission statement when you took over?

Meng Qiang: When I first joined Huawei back in 2001, I was able to gain a good technical understanding as an engineer of fixed networks. I was promoted to Senior Account Manager at a branch office, and then as Account Director of the Guangzhou Office.

I later took up the positions of Director of CNBG business in Heilongjiang province, CEO of Huawei Nepal, Director of Huawei Thailand Enterprise Business Group. I’ve been CEO of Huawei Technologies Pakistan since April 2020 and I believe it has been because of my collective experience in both technical and managerial positions that made me adequately equipped with the needed skills to handle this designation.

Our aim is to openly collaborate with the public and private sectors to create an ICT ecosystem which drives forward digital transformation. We aim to support the government’s vision to move towards a diversified, knowledge-based economy.

EVOLVE: In your view, what is the one business challenge CEO can solve that would make the single biggest impact on the organization?

Meng Qiang: I believe it is the job of the CEO, any CEO, to build trust and a sense of familial stability to their respective companies. For Huawei, the impact of having trust between coworkers, between all levels of management and staff, between the customer and the company, has been the optimal goal. As long as we remain reliable and trustworthy throughout my tenure, I’ll believe we have done a good job. This trustworthiness is what got Huawei to its current success globally, and the impact of a strong leader is to build and sustain our standing.

EVOLVE: As per your experience, what’s more important-using the company technology to make money or using the company technology to save lives in a fast-paced society?

Meng Qiang: The world is changing rapidly and profoundly impacting every person, home, and organization. These changes have brought new experiences, greater efficiency, and a new level of convenience in study, life, and work. However, not every individual, home, or organization around the world is enjoying the benefits that many of us do.

The Earth is made up of 7.5 billion people, but only half the world has access to digital technology. The remainder are still trying to catch up. Huawei is committed to helping close this digital divide by finding new ways to empower the unempowered. So, everyone can enjoy the same digital rights.

We’re at the point in time where ICT and digital technology are rapidly changing every person, home, and organization, and redefining how we live, work, learn, and stay healthy. In this age of greatness, Huawei aspires to become a great company. We want to help humankind take its next step forward.

EVOLVE: As Huawei claims it is building digital platforms to help all industries and organizations to get into more comforting zone. How do you personally care about embedding inclusion and belonging in our society especially in Asian region?

Meng Qiang: Huawei operates in more than 170 countries and regions. Outside of China, we aim to hire local professionals and work to build a diversified workforce. All employees at Huawei, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, or religious beliefs, are offered equal opportunities to work, learn, and develop. As of December 31, 2019, Huawei had approximately 194,000 employees worldwide, 49% of whom (about 96,000 employees) work in R&D. Our employees come from 157 countries and regions. Among our Chinese employees, 43 different ethnic groups are represented.

In Pakistan more than 91% of our employees are local employees, we are committed to creating a harmonious, inclusive, and efficient workplace, so that every employee at the company has sufficient room to grow and maximize their potential.

EVOLVE: How far “Huawei” has contributed towards the society and how is it shaping the gleaming future of coming generations in technology?

Meng Qiang: Pakistan is the fifth youngest country in the world, having 64% young people of an estimated 200m population with an average age of just 22.8. This is a definite advantage when it comes to not only propelling digital transformation, but to training a new generation of ICT leaders.

Developing new skillsets for young people is something that is considered a priority in Pakistan. It also strengthens the ICT ecosystem, which will in turn contribute towards a stronger, digitally-driven economy – therefore investing in developing young ICT talents is a win-win situation that can only bring more benefits in the future, for everyone in Pakistan.

Numerous initiatives were organized in Pakistan, geared towards introducing young people to the ICT sector, educating them and enhancing their skills. These talent training programs include several ICT academies - including Huawei ICT Academies - and annual ICT competitions, amongst others.

Today there are several ICT academies across the country, launched in cooperation with renowned and prestigious universities. These academies operate in partnership with local educators and institutions, providing students with the opportunity to gain certification in some of the most relevant areas of ICT today. Courses at such institutions cover a wide range of technical fields, including routing and switching, storage, cloud, WLAN, cloud computing, big data, IoT, and artificial intelligence. To date, 10,000+ talented individuals have been trained and certified through these academies, providing them with the means to launch a career in the flourishing ICT industry.

EVOLVE: Where is the company today versus where you thought it would have been 5 years ago?

Meng Qiang: Huawei always pursues sustainable and healthy growth. Huawei believes that only by creating value for customers or partners can Huawei's business continue to grow. This is part of Huawei's core values. In 2015, our global revenue is $60.8 billion and ranking 228 in the fortune global 500, in last year 2019 our global revenue have been doubled to $120.9 billion and ranking 61 in the fortune global 500. In H1 of this year, Huawei generated $64.2 billion in revenue, an increase of 13.1% year-on-year.

The outcome is very good and better than I would have thought 5 years ago, but I think the result is very reasonable since we have invested a lot in the R&D, actually every year we spent 10-15% of our revenue in the R&D. $17.5 billion was spent on R&D in 2019, totally more than $70 billion was spent on research and development in the past decade.

EVOLVE: What are your thoughts on print media around the globe/Asian region and what would you like to say to the readers of Evolve Business Publication?

Meng Qiang: Within Huawei’s vision to bring digital to every person, home, and organization for a fully connected and intelligent world, all our collaborative and educational initiatives both in Pakistan and other regions are designed to accelerate the progress of governments, industries, businesses and communities and open new venues of growth and innovation.

We will continue to support the government’s Digital Pakistan vision to move towards a diversified, knowledge-based economy with the latest technologies like 5G, AI and Internet of Things (IoT), which will unlock new venues of growth and innovation and uplift organizations to great heights of prosperity.