David M Williams
Wednesday, 28 January 2009 20:10
IT Industry -
Market
Page 1 of 2
The Pegatron Eee anyone? This week Taiwan "Business Today" magazine broke the news of titanic power struggles between Asustek chairman Johnny Shih and OEM breakaway boss Tung Tsu Hsien, strongly suggesting Hsien will establish his own brand.
This story broke in Taiwan in their “The Economist”-like business periodical, “Business Today.” This publication is printed in Chinese.
Fortunately, those savvy lads at TweakTown had the article translated. You can find their
breaking news here , including both a scan of the original Chinese text as well as the translated English version.
TweakTown have performed a tremendous service to the interested tech community because it seems Business Today have no English edition, whether in print or online.
ASUS is a big name; they've long been producing quality PC components and are the manufacturers behind many a laptop and gadget released under the name of different, major, brands.
ASUS laptops were known for their power-packed value as well as a distinctive style. This includes a Lamborghini-influenced laptop with leather trim, which I myself proudly owned.
ASUS are also the people behind the Eee netbook – the original subnotebook that spawned the current crazy fad. In a world where most were thinking beefier specs were the way to go, ASUS dared to come up with something so ridiculous – a Celeron-based, 512Mb, 7” super-portable – that was a surprising runaway success.
So, when I read that ASUS execs were fighting and there's a real possibility of a splinter group setting up shop I certainly paid attention.
Johnny Shih and Tung Tsu Hsien are the two founders of ASUS. It is Hsien who is largely credited for building up the ASUS brand to be a strong name in the marketplace. Yet, he was unexpectedly forced off the ASUS board. He was relegated into the position of Chairman of Pegatron – Asustek's breakaway OEM division who are tasked with competing with the likes of Foxconn and others.
Observers remark that interactions between the two men were noticeably poor during the media event which announced the creation of Pegatron and named its chairman.
It appears tensions had been brewing for a long time. Way back in 1997 Shih planned to enter the notebook market but was opposed by the then sales director. So, Shih appointed a long-time family friend, Jonathan Tseng to do it. Tseng and Shih were schoolmates and Tseng married Shih's sister so there is a long and close relationship evident. Today Tseng is the Vice-President of Asustek.
During a shareholder meeting Shih was questioned why he had arranged the appointment of such a close relative. It is rumoured Hsien was the agitator behind the question.
Please read on ...
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