From a Single Mother to Being Worth RMB 3 Billion... Who Is She?

If you live in China, chances are your air conditioning unit is from this famous brand, GREE.

One of the most influential business leaders in China is Dong Mingzhu, the chairman of GREE Electric Appliances. 

More than a successful leader, she has become an inspiration to women in China for making it to the top and becoming a high profile amongst men.

But what many people don't know is that Dong Mingzhu is a single mother. Before the age of 36, she was just like any other woman. After that, her life took a turn towards a wonderful journey.

   

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   What is it that changed for her to become today's powerful business "iron lady"?

Dong was born in 1954 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, the youngest of seven siblings.

Her family was quite ordinary and her parents loved her dearly.

After graduating from the Institute of Anhui in 1975 with a degree in statistics, she returned to Nanjing to work as an administrator at a chemical research company.

She gave birth to her son when she was 28. Tragically, two years later, her husband died of a serious illness. She never married again and raised her son alone.

Her husband's death marked the biggest turning point in Dong's life.

She recalled, "if it hadn't been for my husband's death, I wouldn't have gone down this road. If he were here, he would not have allowed me to move to Zhuhai.”

As her son grew up, she felt the economic pressure of supporting a young boy and herself.

   

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In 1990, at the age of 36, Dong resigned from her stable administrative job and left her 8-year-old son with her mother.

She first moved to Shenzhen and then to Zhuhai, where she joined the Haili Air Conditioning factory, the predecessor of GREE electric appliances, and became a grassroots salesman.

Dong had never done sales before. With zero experience and a lot of persistence, it only took her 40 days to successfully recover the 420,000 arrears that the last clerk failed to recover, to the surprise of other employees around her.

She didn’t have any holidays, whatever days she would have for rest, she would spend them trying to win more business.

Two years later, the sales of Anhui province under her charge exceeded RMB 16,000,000, accounting for one-eighth of GREE’s total sales.

   

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Then she was transferred to Nanjing.

Even though it was winter, she successfully signed a contract for RMB 2 million worth of air conditioners and within a year, her sales had increased to RMB 3.650 million. 

She could win more business than anyone else could.

In 1994, when Dong was 40 years old, GREE faced a big turmoil which drove a lot of employees away, but she chose to stay.

She was then elected unanimously to head the company's operations department, from which she moved into management.

She was then promoted to sales manager in 1995.

   

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Under her leadership, GREE Electric Appliances ranked top in production and sales volume, sales revenue and market share of air conditioners in China for 11 consecutive years between 1995 to 2005.

It had become the leader of the domestic air conditioning industry with revenues of over RMB 10 billion to reach the top of the market.

In 2003, she was elected to the tenth National People's Congress.

In 2005, she was listed in Fortune Magazine's "50 most powerful women in business".

In 2012, she became chairman and President of GREE electric appliances.

In 2015, the company entered the world’s top 500 and became one of the benchmarks of China's manufacturing industry.

Today, the market value of GREE Electric Appliances has exceeded RMB 335.4 billion, and the 65-year-old Dong is worth nearly RMB 3 billion.

She has a strong personality; she’s resolute and vigorous.

Her management style is reportedly strict.

"In reality, women have to work a lot harder than men to really be a good leader."

By the end of 2016, GREE Electric Appliances had increased the salary of its employees collectively, and all employees who have been employed for three months received a monthly salary increase of RMB 1,000. 

On January 8, 2019, GREE Electric Appliances issued another notice of salary increase for all employees.

As a leader, she never gives false hope to employees, and through transparency she has helped many of her employees become better.

Dong's view on the salary increase is: "Don't wait for employees to ask for a raise. Take the initiative to raise their salary and exceed their expectations."

GREE Electric Appliances has been providing dormitories for employees since its early beginnings. Each employee has a dormitory of 20 square meters.

If you are married and do not have an apartment in Zhuhai, you can apply for 60 square meters with two bedrooms and one living room.

In 2018, the company invested RMB 2 billion to build “talent apartments at its own expense. GREE employees can live in the apartment for free. After retirement, it belongs to the individual.

Dong Mingzhu said, "If you can retire here, I'll give you the house."

In July of this year, GREE Electric Appliances issued a new notice to pay for the mobile phone bills of 90,000 employees, and also offered discounts for the phone bills of employees' families.

In 2014, Dong Mingzhu became the spokesperson of GREE Electric Appliances to save costs.

She didn’t come from a famous business school, nor from a wealthy family. She only relied on her parents to take care of her son while she was trying to make a decent living for herself and her family.

At the age of 36, she was not afraid of hardship and dared try new things, from the bottom and little by little, she earned the status she deserves.

This woman who sells air conditioners, does not have the aura of a famous school, has no background of wealth, and does not rely on her father or brother. 

Dong Mingzhu's rise to the top has been a beacon of inspiration to younger women in China and all over the world, proving that with grit and determination, almost anything is possible if you set your mind to it. And she certainly did.

Editor: Crystal Huang

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