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OCTOBER
27, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 42 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK
Asia's
Digital Elite
Matei Mihalca |
| Head
of Internet Research, Asia-Pacific, Merrill Lynch
Age: 31 Prized possession: Indian carpet Email: matei_mihalca@hotmail.com |
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One
thing you can't accuse Matei Mihalca of is being dull: The influential Hong
Kong-based Internet analyst brims with enthusiasm whenever talk turns to
the Web. As Asia's Internet bubble expanded last year, Romanian-born Mihalca
was at the forefront of efforts by U.S. investment banks to build up their
dotcom business. He played matchmaker, facilitating deals between start-ups
and financiers. While his famously optimistic predictions on Asia's Internet
scene have turned critical in recent months, Mihalca remains upbeat on his
favorite stock picks. Unlike some of his research rivals, Mihalca hasn't
quit the investment bank to start up his own dotcom. Maybe that itself is
a tip.
Chin
Dae Je
|
| President
and CEO, Digital Media, Samsung Electronics Age:
48 Hero: Intel Chairman Andy Grove. E-Mail: djchin@samsung.co.kr |
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They call
him Mr. Chips. And it's not because of Chin Dae Je's performance on the
golf range, where he likes to head when he has a rare moment to relax. Rather,
it's a fitting moniker for the Stanford-educated engineer who nearly single-handedly
made Samsung Electronics a leader in the memory chip business. His bosses
are now hoping he can work more of his magic in taking analog products like
televisions into the digital age. Ultimately, Samsung wants to rival Sony
and Matsushita in digital media. "We are [all] on the same starting line
as far as digital products are concerned," says Chin. But he's determined
to end up ahead of the pack.
Matsunaga
Mari
|
| Editorial
Director, eWoman Age: 46 Quirk: The savviest, non-English-speaking
technophobe on the Web |
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Matsunaga
Mari earned a degree in French literature, spent 20 years editing classified
ad magazines — oh, yeah, and then designed the groundbreaking I-Mode
mobile Internet service for Japanese cellular giant NTT DoCoMo. How'd
she do that? She understood what all the engineers and management consultants
didn't — how to provide a useful service to ordinary consumers. Having
left DoCoMo earlier this year, Matsunaga recently launched the website
eWoman.com with renowned female entrepreneur Sasaki Kaori. They plan to
provide readers information on how to start a business, raise children
and everything in between.
Wu
Jichuan
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| Minister
of Information Industry, China Age: 63 Hobby: Cooking |
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Wu Jichuan
is something of a paradox: a conservative techie. As the gatekeeper to China's
cyberspace (all Internet ventures must pass through his ministry), Wu has
pressed hard to make the Internet more accessible to ordinary Chinese (among
his achievements: forcing state-backed China Telecom to cut prices). At
the same time, however, he has tried to block foreign inroads into the country's
telecom and Internet sectors. Described as an anti-WTO conservative, Wu
shook the Web community last year when he announced that foreign investment
in Internet content-and-service providers was illegal. He reportedly has
little time for outside interests, but he is said to enjoy puttering about
the kitchen. Perhaps struggling dotcoms should consider inviting him for
dinner? He'll cook.
Stan
Shih
|
| Chairman
and founder, ACER Group Age: 56 Quote: ³Instead
of focusing on certain technological disciplines, we
should train our students as well as employees to think
independently.² E-mail: stanshih@acer.com.tw |
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The title
of his autobiography, Me Too Is Not My Style, summarizes Stan Shih's life
philosophy. Shih's iconoclastic style has sifted down through Taiwan's Acer
Group, giving it the flexibility to survive two decades of neck-twisting
changes and emerge as the world's third-largest PC maker. Among his credos:
empower employees. Well before stock options came into vogue, he gave up
70% of his Acer stake to his employees. Being Asia's elder statesman of
high-tech, however, wasn't his original plan; his childhood ambition was
to be a professor. But today he does get to fulfill his dream — partially.
Each week, he shares his valuable experience through lectures at National
Chiao Tung University.
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Vol. 2 No. 7
COVER: Digital Elite: Twenty-five
Asians who are driving the region's big I.T. bus
Infested: Call the exterminator
— Singapore's home of the future is crawling with software bugs
Pulse: Palm robots, Aibo has
puppies and why Jenny can't surf
Face Off: Sizing up the Nomad
jukebox and Nomad II, Creative Technology's extreme music machines
E-vesting: Teaching your
sixth-grader to be a day-trader
Net Gains: Korea's NCsoft
is winning big in the gaming market
Tech Index: Bears ravage
Asian technology and internet stocks
B2B: Is Japan the sleeping giant of electronic
trading, or is the country just sleeping?
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