China’s 25 Most Influential Business Leaders In 2008

For the fifth year running, Fortune China has published its “25 Most Influential Business Leaders in China 2008” list, the feature article in the April issue. As in the past, selection was based on “leading executives influential within their corporation and industry, and capable of changing things on a wide scale,” both in China and internationally, said the syndicate.

A sign of the times, the 2008 list pays notice to executives promoting an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) corporate culture in China more than in years past. Chief among the leaders in this category was publicly traded solar panel manufacturer Suntech’s SHI Zhengrong and rechargeable battery-cum-electric automaker BYD’s Chairman WANG Chuanfu.

Several of the business leaders are also well known billionaires, according to their ranking in Forbes 2008 “China’s 400 Richest” and the Hurun report “2008 China Rich List.” Suntech’s Shi and BYD’s Wang, among China’s most well known billionaires, both fall into that category.

Other notable tycoons among Fortune’s top 25 include Chinese home appliance giant Suning’s Chairman ZHANG Jindong; online gaming mogul and Tencent Chairman MA Huateng; and HE Xiangjian, Chairman of Midea Home Appliance. The growing influence of China’s financial elite suggests that they have earned a place at the table – if not quite yet in Beijing, than certainly amongst investors looking to capitalize on the Chinese brands that will, in the years ahead, become global icons.

Just as personal wealth is on the rise among China’s influential business people, the importance of state-owned companies appears to be waning. Compared with previous years, the 2008 list featured more private sector companies. Only seven of the executives hailed from state-owned enterprises, while eight of the list’s 18 private sector companies are publicly trade firms.

Despite the evolution of China’s business culture, age and gender remain more resistant to change. 52 is the average age of this year’s business leaders, and only one of the luminaries, home appliance retailer Gree’s general manager, DONG Mingzhu, is a woman.

The full list can be seen here: