K.C. Liu founded Advantech in 1983 and has been the president and CEO ever since. In the early days soon after the founding of Advantech he vowed, "though I cannot win a gold medal for my people in the Olympic Games, I will strive instead to serve them by creating a world-class company." His passion and leadership has inspired the company to stay focused on its core competencies, and finally made Advantech become the leading light in the worldwide industrial computing arena. Furthermore, in 2004 Advantech was recognized as a top 10 global brand in Taiwan by the prestigious brand-consulting firm "Interbrand".
K.C. Liu was born in 1954 and graduated from the Department of Communication Engineering at National Chiao Tung University. Before founding his own company, he worked as an R&D engineer and then later as a sales engineer for HP Taiwan in the Instrument Department. During this period, he accumulated a wealth of knowledge through practical experiences. These lessons were invaluable when he later decided to found Advantech with two partners who had been colleagues with him at HP Taiwan.
Advantech is the world's leading ePlatform service provider; offering integrated PC-based computing platform products and customization services through its extensive global network in 18 countries and 36 major cities. In regards to the company's future development trajectory, K.C. Liu has big plans. Advantech aims to achieve US$1 billion in global revenues by 2010, while deepening customers' trust for the company's brand name.
K.C. Liu, an avid reader, often purchases good management books to share with all of the management team. Periodically, the company holds book-club meetings in its branch offices around the world. Especially high on his list of favorites are: "Built to Last", "Good to Great", and "Blue Ocean Strategy", which he claims have had a great impact on the way business is done at Advantech.
K.C. Liu takes Advantech's role as a key corporate citizen very seriously. "Giving back to society is part of normal business operations", he said. Corporations are like big trees growing in the fertile soil of society. For a corporation to be both innovative and profitable, it must draw talent and inspiration from the community in which it is based, and also share the fruits of its success with the community. For Advantech, nurturing bright local youth is not only good community relations, but also good business as it helps attract fresh talent in a virtuous cycle that continuously replenishes the company's growth. |