New York Institute of Technology and IBM co-hosted a special guest lecture:

 

Wang Wenjing

"An Entrepreneur’s Strategies for Thriving in Turbulent Times"


Wang Wenjing (pictured), founder and chairman of UFIDA, China's largest management software supplier, spoke to a group of students, faculty, executives, and media during a visit to NYIT on Oct. 27. During his presentation, co-hosted by NYIT's School of Engineering and Computing Sciences and IBM, Wang shared his story of rising from poverty to becoming one of China's richest individuals and provided insights on how to thrive in turbulent economic times.

In her opening remarks, Dean Nada Anid, Ph.D., said: "This event, which brings together UFIDA and IBM -- two global technology giants -- has a natural home at NYIT." Mark Hanny, IBM's vice president for global alliances, talked about the transformational power of education and urged NYIT students to innovate and seek new adventures.

 

Wang Wenjing Biography

The 45-year-old software entrepreneur, who grew up an impoverished farmer's son, has transformed Beijing-based UFIDA into one of China's most successful companies. With an estimated worth of $555 million (U.S.), Wang was listed no. 85 on Forbes' October 2008 list of "The 400 Richest Chinese" and has been referred to as "China's Bill Gates."

Born in the small village of Shangrao, in the mountainous Jiangxi province, Wang won a spot at the Jiangxi University of Finance & Economics when he was 15. Graduating with honors, Wang was given a government job in Beijing--the only person from his village ever to achieve such a post--where he developed computerized financial software for the State Council's government offices administration. "People viewed me as at the peak of success," Wang recalls.

In December, 1988, at the age of 24, he quit his government job and joined several college classmates to start their own financial software company, called UFSoft. The move concerned his parents, who considered doing private business too risky. Demand for UFSoft's accounting and financial software soon soared and a decade later, in 1998, the firm held a 45 percent market share in China. Today, his company, now known as UFIDA Software Co. Ltd., is one of the leading providers of management software solutions and services in Asia.