Exclusive Interviews with Alumni || Wang Heguang: Dedicating in the Semiconductor Industry for 15 Years
Wang Heguang, a visiting professor of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, holds a master’s degree in EMBA and a doctoral degree in international trade of the school; she is now the Chairman and President of Shenzhen Founder Microelectronics International Co. Ltd. (FMIC), a leading company in China’s electronic chip industry.
FMIC is a high-tech enterprise established by Founder Group together with other investors to extend its operations into the upstream of the IT industry. It is engaged in the production, original equipment manufacture and sales of integrated circuit chips; it is committed to promoting the industrialization of power management chips and new power electronic devices. Furthermore, Founder Microelectronics adheres to the corporate culture of “be the precision, to the vast”, taking the road of advanced technology so as to building Founder Microelectronics into an integration international integrated circuit industry group from design to delivery.
Talking about the reason to study at ZUEL, Wang Heguang said, “Founder Group is held by Peking University, so many cadres above the middle level chose to study at Guanghua School of Management for their master or doctoral studies, but I thought the production and operation of enterprises cannot be separated from financial management and we must also adhere to the bottom line of the law. And ZUEL is the best in the combination of finance and law. I also felt that the humanistic environment of the university is very good during my years of study.” After graduating from the EMBA of ZUEL, she went on to study for a PhD in international trade at her alma mater. This experience not only enabled her to learn about business management and international trade systematically, but also gave her a clear understanding of the business philosophy of upholding morality and abiding by the law.
When we asked what impressed her about her alma mater, Wang Heguang said that even after years of graduation, the connection between her and alma mater remains strong. She always keeps a learning attitude when she goes back to alma mater to study, give lectures and participate in the celebration of ZUEL.
As the manager of one of the leading companies in China’s electronic chip industry, Wang Heguang has a comprehensive knowledge of chips, from the generation to the production technology of chips and even the working principles of production facility. And she explained to us slowly. During her presentation, the ZUEL visiting team visited the historical archive of FMIC to learn about the development of the semiconductor industry and the company’s cutting-edge technology. Later, the engineer led the team on a close observation about the production line, where production technicians in isolation suits were busy working in a production environment with a high cleanliness.
Although Wang Heguang has become a leader in the industry, talking about the past ten years of work experience, she gently sighed: “When I came to Longgang District of Shenzhen in 2003 to engage in microelectronics industry, I had no technology, no team, no market resource.” In 2003, the Longgang district was desolate, and Wang Heguang, who was in her thirties, came to Longgang alone. She recited the scientific research project report again and again to apply for loans of banks and investors, building a workshop of more than 90,000 square meters brick by brick and put it into production. At that time, the factory dormitory was not yet completed, so she had to live in sample houses, where cockroaches, rats and snakes were commonplace. But Wang Heguang did not mind the hardship. She laughed: “The more difficult it is, the better I want to do this thing.” However, difficulties came one after another, after the ready of workshop and equipment, in front of Wang Heguang is the problem of business development. “How to make money and support the whole team? How would the business survive in the future? There was no customer, and they could only find customers one by one, running between various companies, using low prices to open up sales channels. Once the customer had a request, they had to invest a lot of financial and human resources to research and development. Sometimes the customer suddenly changed his or her idea, the cost invested lost.” With a firm grip on cash flow, FMIC had survived two economic crises, and after such a tortuous and bumpy road, the company was finally slowly getting on track.
The cost of research and development of chips is high but the price falls quickly. A DVD requires more than twenty chips, and it takes six months to develop. However, then the price falls from thousands yuan to within a thousand yuan during the time from research and development to production, so the decrease of profit margin makes growing people in the industry switch to other businesses. “You can't succeed in this industry without ambition.” The country needs such high-tech enterprises and our own chip technology. Such belief has supported Wang Heguang to this day. In the semiconductor industry, domestic equipment, production technology and cutting-edge talents are gradually developing, and national policies are tilting towards semiconductor companies. The idea of mastering our own chip technology has spread to the industry and beyond.