Ford Motor (China) Ltd. Chairman and CEO Mei-Wei Cheng Speaks on Leadership

Ford Motor (China) Ltd. Chairman and CEO Mei-Wei Cheng Speaks on Leadership

February 26, 2007

    SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
Rutgers Executive MBA office in Shanghai hosted on February
8, 2007 a talk on its on-going EMBA Leadership Series, with
speech delivered by Mei-Wei Cheng, Chairman and CEO of Ford
Motor (China) Ltd. 

    Speaking to an audience of Rutgers alumni, students and
special guests, Mei-Wei Cheng, himself a Rutgers Beijing
EMBA alumni from the class of 1999, shared his leadership
experiences with three of the world's largest and most
recognized organizations; AT&T, General Electric and
the Ford Motor Company.  When asked to define leadership
Cheng stated that it is "someone's ability to improve
and motivate people/organization, to make achievements
worthwhile by helping people/organization, to become more
than they realized they can be.  Managers need to get the
results through people whereas Senior Executives need to
motivate a lot of people".

    Cheng talked about the need for strong communication
skills.  "You could be the smartest guy in the world,
but if you can't convey your ideas, then you probably will
not be seen as such".

    It was during his tenure at General Electric that Cheng
was introduced to the 4-E's; Energy, Energize, Edge (a
willingness to make tough decisions) and Execute (being
results driven) which he still refers to today.  Moving to
Ford, Cheng discovered a corporate culture that can be best
be described as a balance between innovation and the
continual pursuit to develop leading-edge processes,
technologies and products and being socially responsible. 


    In terms of Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOE),
Cheng remarked that they need to anticipate changes in
technologies, market dynamics and global competition. 
SOE's must also learn to change quickly and decisively,
find and support "change agents" on the
leadership team and above all constantly communicate a
consistent message.

    In his view, the qualities for being a successful
leader include self-confidence and commitment, courage,
integrity, humility and initiative, tenacity and
perseverance, a passion for winning and delivering on
commitments, and the notion change or die.  "Change is
constant -- this goes for companies, business and people. 
If you don't change, you die".
    
    About Rutgers Executive MBA

    Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, offers a
14-month Executive MBA (EMBA) in Shanghai and Beijing. 
Rutgers' prestige, history and international reputation
have all been leveraged into a program of uncompromising
quality and relevance.  Annually the course content is
changed by approximately 40% to ensure that students are
getting a program that reflects the constantly changing
technology-driven business world.

    The EMBA program in China mirrors the one offered in
the United States and to ensure a consistent quality in the
content and delivery all the professors are flown from the
United States to teach the courses.

    A typical EMBA class comprises 10 to 12 different
nationalities making it one of the truly international and
diverse programs currently available in China.  The program
also has a very unique design that minimizes time away from
the office and maximizes course content retention.

    The Rutgers EMBA class of 2008 will begin in July, 2007
in Shanghai and September, 2007 in Beijing.  Applications
are currently being accepted for both classes.

    Next program in the on-going EMBA Leadership Series
will be on March 12 in Beijing when Professor Gordon
Smouther speaks on Managing Risks in Global Supply Chains. 
Professor Smouther is considered one of the leading experts
on Supply Chain Management.
   
    Upcoming EMBA Information Sessions
   
    Beijing dates: 

    March 14, April 10, May 16, June 12, July 10, July 31
and 
    August 21, 2007. 
    Contact number to register for a session is (8610) 8526
2528/29/13 Ext. 18

    Shanghai dates: 

    March 13, April 17, May 15, June 5 and June 26.  
    Contact number to register is (8621) 6217-6067 Ext. 15
or 
    6217-8711 Ext. 15

    For more information, please contact:

     Kelly Brantner
     Executive Project Manager, Beijing
     Tel: [phone]/13 Ext. 18

     Kristin Glavitsch
     Recruitment Manager - Corporate Relations, Shanghai
     Tel: [phone] Ext. 15 or [phone] Ext.
15
 
     Website: http://www.rutgers.cn 


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