Chinese tech firms eye top executives

Zhang Yaqin, former senior global VP of Microsoft, talks at the annual meeting of BFA during the 2013 Boao Forum for Asia in Boao town, Hainan province, on April 5, 2013. [Photo/IC]

Executives with a global focus are being sought to help business growth, report Meng Jing and Gao Yuan.

As Chinese high-technology companies vie for market share all over the world, they are also trying to lure top executives from overseas competitors.

Industry insiders said that recruiting leaders from international giants, who often demand higher compensation, will boost innovation and the marketing strengths of Chinese players.

The latest example of executive job-hopping was in September when Zhang Yaqin, a long-time Microsoft Corp research executive, left the United States company for Beijing-based Web search provider Baidu Inc.

The 48-year-old software development veteran, who has called Bill Gates his mentor, said he was ready for new challenges.

Baidu, the world's largest Chinese-language search engine by user numbers, is investing heavily in building new business models beyond online searching. Adding talent with global exposure is part of that process.

In mid-May, Baidu opened a research and development office in Sunnyvale, California. Robin Li, company founder and chief executive officer, said Baidu plans to invest $30 million to expand the R&D center to employe more than 200 people in three years time.

The company's US office was set up in Cupertino in 2011 and had 28 employees by the end of 2013, most of them R&D engineers.

Months before Zhang joined Baidu, the Chinese company signed artificial intelligence scientist Andrew Ng from Google Inc. Ng, who headed Google's AI project, is now Baidu's chief scientist.

"As a true visionary and key contributor to the field of artificial intelligence, Ng is the ideal individual to lead our research efforts as we enter an era where AI plays an increasingly pronounced role," said Li.

"We are also strong believers of fully distributed R&D capabilities. Technology is very important. We are very willing to invest, but we understand that not everyone wants to go to Beijing to do engineering work," he said.

Liu Lee, Baidu's vice-president for human resources, said: "Only a few companies could have appealed to Andrew Ng, given his desire to push artificial intelligence forward."

AI research is very capital-intensive, requiring lots of data and computing power. Baidu - as Ng put it - can provide those things. Lee said hiring an industry leading researcher with a terrific reputation and solid experience is set to boost the company's business.

"Attracting top-flight technology talent is critical for Baidu wherever we are, and of course having him anchoring our research efforts in Silicon Valley is good for our brand as an employer," said Lee.

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