QINGDAO, China, March 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Haier, the world's leading home appliance provider, today announced that the company's Chairman and CEO, Zhang Ruimin, has been named in Fortune magazine's list of the "The World's 50 Greatest Leaders" published earlier today.
Mr. Zhang ranks 22nd on the ranking of leading figures from business, politics and society who Fortune credits with "energizing their followers and making the world better." Other honorees include Pope Francis, Angela Merkel, and Warren Buffet.
In its citation, Fortune credited Zhang Ruimin's "radical management innovations" with transforming Haier into the world's largest appliance brand, noting that Zhang "groups employees into small, self-managing teams that choose their own managers, compete for internal talent, and can earn big bonuses."
Under Zhang Ruimin's leadership Haier has created a management system that puts customer needs at the heart of the product development process. Haier encourages staff to track evolving market trends and form autonomous project teams to address emerging opportunities. Each new project or market opportunity leads to the formation of a dedicated small team of workers functioning as an independent company, what Haier calls a ZZJYT. The system is designed to foster internal entrepreneurship and innovation, and to make Haier a more efficient and nimble company.
ABOUT HAIER GROUP
Haier is the world's leading home appliance provider, with global revenues of US$29.5 billion and profit of US$1.76 billion in 2013. Its mission is to create innovative home appliances that anticipate the fast-changing needs of consumers in more than 100 countries around the globe. Euromonitor International, a world leader in strategy research for consumer markets, has named Haier the number one brand of major appliances in the world every year for the last five years. In 2012 the Boston Consulting Group named Haier one of the ten most innovative companies in the world.
Haier Electronics Group Co., Ltd. a subsidiary of Haier Group, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKG: 1169). Qingdao Haier Co., also a subsidiary of Haier Group, is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHA: 600690). For more information, please visit www.haier.net.