Liu Chuanzhi

Liu Chuanzhi (; born 29 April 1944) is a Chinese entrepreneur. Liu is the founder of Lenovo, the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales. He remains one of the leaders of the company.

Early life and education After graduating from high school in 1962, Liu applied to be a military pilot and passed all the associated exams. Despite his father's revolutionary credentials, Liu was declared unfit for military service because a relative had been denounced as a rightist. In autumn of the same year, Liu entered the People's Liberation Army Institute of Telecommunication Engineering, now known as Xidian University. Due to his political and class background, Liu was deemed unsuitable for such sensitive subjects and was assigned to study radar. During his studies Liu received an introduction to computing. During an interview, Liu acknowledged the major risks involved with the IBM deal. "We had three serious risks. Number one: After the acquisition, would clients buy from the new owner? Number two: Would employees continue to work for the new owner? Number three: Would there be potential conflicts between the Chinese management and the Western management?"

Legend Holdings

In June 2012, Liu stepped down as chairman of Legend Holdings, the parent company of Lenovo. In the years just prior to his resignation, Liu focused on improving Legend's growth, building-up its core assets, and conducting a public stock offering between 2014 and 2016. Legend's major assets include Lenovo, Legend Capital, a real-estate venture called Raycom, Digital China, and Hony Capital.

In an interview with the BBC, Liu said that his vision for Legend was for it "to become an industry in its own right" and that he wants it "to become the top enterprise across industries...not only in China, but in the whole world." Liu said that he realized that his vision was extremely ambitious and may have to be left to his successors to implement.

Liu said in an interview with Forbes that he hoped to diversify away from IT-related businesses and that Legend Holding's assets would be mainly concentrated in information technology, real estate, services, coal processing, and agriculture. He said agriculture "will become the next strategic development area for Legend Holdings." Liu said agriculture is just one part of what he sees as "huge" opportunities in sectors that cater to Chinese consumers. In the same interview, Liu said that Legend's focus would continue to remain on China. "Whatever we do has to fit into something we are doing in China," said Liu when referring to plans for overseas investment.

Liu led an initial public offering for Legend on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2015. The offering received regulatory approval in June of that year. Liu said in an interview that he planned to float Legend's stock on a domestic Chinese exchange before his retirement.

In 2019, Liu resigned as chairman of Legend Holdings.

Joyvio Joyvio is Legend Holdings' vehicle for investment in the food industry. Legend has invested more than 1 billion yuan in Joyvio. Joyvio will pursue complete vertical integration from farming all the way to retailing. Joyvio's first product was blueberries. In November 2013, its product range was expanded to kiwifruit. The kiwifruit has been named "Liu Kiwi," in honor of Liu Chuanzhi. Liu is responsible for Legend's move into food.

Other positions As of 2013, Liu served as a senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company.

Political views Unlike many other Chinese business leaders, Liu has often spoken out on political issues. Liu has criticized others' tendency for silence. He said, "when it comes to the inappropriate actions the government takes, businessmen don't have the courage or capacity to go against them; second, they lack the social responsibility to care for the whole world and what they do is to 'mind their own business.

In 2001, Liu was selected by Time magazine as one of the "25 Most Influential Global Executives."

Personal life Liu was born in 1944 and his paternal grandfather was head of a traditional Chinese bank. Liu's grandfather sent his father, Liu Gushu , to study in Shanghai. Liu Gushu abandoned scholarship and passed an exam for employment with the Bank of China. Liu Gushu was a "patriotic capitalist" who worked secretly for the Communist Party before the revolution of 1949. He became a senior executive with the Bank of China and later became a patent lawyer and chairman of the China Technology Licensing Company. Liu Chuanzhi's maternal grandfather served as finance minister for the warlord Sun Chuanfang. After the Communist victory in 1949, Liu's family moved to Beijing, where they lived in a traditional courtyard home located on a hutong in the Wangfujing area. Liu's father continued his work with the Bank of China and joined the Chinese Communist Party.