Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) Lenovo Group Chairman Yang Yuanqing spoke on the successful integration of Lenovo and IBM corporate cultures Wednesday, almost 20 months after Lenovo purchased IBM's personal computer (PC) division, and said he was optimistic about the company's future.
Regarding Lenovo's transition period following the US$1.25 billion acquisition in December 2004, the 42-year-old Yang said "On a scale of 1 to 100, I think I'll hand out a score of 90," after his lecture in Taipei, which was organized by Global Views Monthly magazine.
The deal made Lenovo Group, China's largest PC giant, the world's third-largest PC manufacturer behind Dell and Hewlett-Peckard.
But the integration has not been easy, "Especially because we're in a case of a Chinese company acquiring a Western company," said Yang, who asked everyone at Lenovo to call him by his first name instead of Chairman Yang or Mister Yang.
The first priority after the deal, Yang said, was to redefine the company's core values. a surprisingly easy task since two companies share the same core values, such as satisfaction-guaranteed service and integrity.
On the other hand, he tried to change some of IBM's "old ways," replacing them with basic must-haves in the fast-paced PC industry -- speed, efficiency, aggressiveness in seeking change and discipline.
Basically, Lenovo tried to preserve the strengths of both sides, Yang said, as Westerners are more aggressive and outgoing while Easterners are better at execution.
"The mix of Chinese and international staff helps everyone to adjust, respect and learn from others, which is good for Lenovo's development," Yang said.
Yang reiterated that the integration is "a cultural fusion of two corporations," not "a war of the East and the West."
The deal that has been described as "a snake eating an elephant" has shown optimistic results, as Lenovo's revenues have increased in the past 20 months, reversing a trend in previous merger cases that saw dramatic losses in the first two years following a merger.
Yang also expected an increase in Lenovo's cooperation with Taiwanese high-tech companies in future because "the IT supply chain is concentrated in the Greater China region. Our cooperation with Taiwanese corporations is natural and obvious."