Leadership Spotlight

Continued from previous page

Cementing the Asian Economy

Leslie Koo, WG'81
CEO and Chairman, Taiwan Cement Corp., Taipei

Leslie Koo has helped build many bridges during the past 25 years. Some of them, like the graceful Green Lake Suspension Bridge near Taipei, are made of concrete from the Taiwan Cement Corp., the company he runs. Others are figurative—the bridges between businesses, between East and West, between mainland China and Taiwan. To build those, Koo has needed something even stronger than cement—negotiating skills, business strategy, financial smarts, and cross- cultural fluency. And he gives Wharton some of the credit.

"The Wharton experience was very important to me," Koo says. "It was not only a learning experience, but also a confidence building exercise, especially for Asian business people like myself. Going through Wharton, it's like being with the best of the best in the world. After the successful completion of the curriculum, you get the sense that you can compete with anyone, do business with anyone—and anywhere—in the world."

When he graduated with his MBA, he returned home to join the Taiwan Cement Corp., part of the Koo Group controlled by his father, C.F. Koo (a longtime friend of the Wharton School who passed away in 2005). Beginning as a specialist in the Electronic Data Processing Center, Leslie Koo made an immediate impact by designing and implementing a distributed-processing decision-support system—the first of its kind in Taiwan. By 1991, he was president and COO, and in 2003 he became CEO and chairman.

From the beginning, he had a great sense of responsibility to the company, and to his country as well. "I was quite optimistic," says Koo, of his return to Taipei. "I had a very strong sense of commitment and mission. My family has been associated with the economic development of Taiwan for a long time. To us, it's more of a carryon or legacy issue, following the footsteps of my father and other family members who have contributed so significantly to the Taiwanese economic development."

Taiwan's rapid economic development in the 1960s was often referred to as the Taiwan Miracle, but Koo sees nothing miraculous about it. "I think it has to do with the Taiwanese people," he says. "The Taiwanese business community is very much aware of our country's situation in terms of lack of natural resources, and being squeezed especially from mainland China. The only way to really have a foothold in the international scene is to be successful economically. What we had achieved was a part of the Taiwanese commitment to hard work and business."

Koo demonstrates that commitment through his many roles in Koo Group companies and other business and community ventures. He is the chairman of Ho-Ping Power Co., Ta-Ho Environment & Technical Services Co., Ltd., China Synthetic Rubber Corp., Continental Carbon Co., and Synpac Inc., as well as director of Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp., Taiwan Polypropylene Co., Ltd., and Far Eastone Telecommunications Co., Ltd. He serves as a business ambassador through leadership in the Taiwan Britain Business Council, Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, ROC-USA Business Council, Sino-British Culture and Economy Association, and the Taiwan Cement Manufacturers' Association.

During his time leading Taiwan Cement Corp., Koo has weathered storms during regional economic changes and political challenges for his country, which is not officially recognized by any country with diplomatic ties to the People's Republic of China. While Koo says Taiwan and Koo Group were not heavily impacted by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, the handover of Hong Kong from the British to China in 1997 was a critical turning point.

"We prepared for the worst," says Koo. "We had a subsidiary in Hong Kong that was privately held until 1997 when we IPOed the company. Now this publicly listed company is a financing source, and also a vehicle to tap into the Hong Kong capital market for our Chinese expansions. On one hand, we are able to get cheap capital from Hong Kong, and on the other hand, we shield the Taiwanese operation from the Chinese political risk."

Now Koo's company is once again facing significant opportunities, investing heavily in the People's Republic of China. Between 2004 and 2008, Koo expects to invest more than $700 million U.S. dollars in mainland China, operating five manufacturing sites with more than 8.1 million tons of annual capacity in the Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces.

"That's twice the size of what were able to do in a 50-year time span in Taiwan," he says. "We're literally building up 100 years of capacity in a five-year time." The goal is to become the third-largest supplier in mainland China.

There are additional benefits and risks for his company, which is treated as a preferred investor because China considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory.

"At this moment, China is changing from the manufacturer of the world to the market of the world," says Koo. "For Taiwan, we are in a very unique position. On the one hand, we're Chinese, and on the other hand, we've been associated with the international business community for so long. There's an opportunity for ambitious Taiwanese business people to transform their companies from domestic Taiwanese companies, to become regional strong players, and even become global players."

That ambition is evident in Taipei 101, located in the Taipei Financial Centre. It is the first and only building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height—the tower has been the world's tallest building since 2003. It's a powerful symbol of the country's economic development, and it's built of concrete from Taiwan Cement Corp.

One Year in the Life of the Wharton School

Centennial: 1980-1981

Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "The quality of the faculty and student body seems stronger than ever."

Professor Lawrence Klein won the Nobel Prize in economics.

The expansion of Dietrich Hall began with a $15 million budget; the original building cost $3,600,000 in 1952.

Two $1 million gifts endowed the Reginald H. Jones Professor of Corporate Management and the Joseph Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility.

Two new research units were founded: The Center for International Management Studies and the Reginald H. Jones Center for Management Policy, Strategy, and Organization.

Wharton began international co-ventures with Shanghai Jiao-Tan University of China and Nomura Research Institute of Japan.

There were 1,928 undergraduates, 1,300 MBA and MS students, 81 Executive MBA students, 239 doctoral students, and 1,487 evening students.

There were 10,000 participants in Executive Education at 200 different seminars.

Wharton's endowment was $16 million, compared to Harvard's $80 million.

The School had $12 million in corporate and foundation grants for research projects and contracts—the most for any business school.

School won the Western Electric Fund Award for "innovation in undergraduate business education for administration."

The average Wharton freshman scored 1350 on the SAT—the highest for any undergraduate school in the nation.

For graduating MBAs, the average GMAT was 620 and GPA was 3.38. There were 3,300 applications for 620 MBA spots.

20% of the MBA class was from outside the U.S., with the most students from Japan, Mexico, India, France, and the Philippines. Wharton students hailed from 83 countries.

27% of the MBA class was female—a huge increase from only 4% in 1972.

2,100 recruiters representing 600 companies visited campus for MBA—the most who visited any graduate business school that year.

The job market was strong, with the average MBA granted 27 job interviews and receiving 3.8 job offers.

The average salary of a Wharton MBA was $30,200. Salaries were highest in consulting ($40,000) with investment banking second ($36,000).

The average salary of a Wharton undergraduate was $17,500, with each receiving three job offers.

The U.S. Postal Service honored Wharton's founding by issuing a stamp with Joseph Wharton's portrait and the words "Professional Management."

SOURCES: WHARTON PUBLICATIONS, NEWS RELEASES, AND PRESS CLIPPINGS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ARCHIVES