The global financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, Meng Wanzhou, has made a 24-hour visit to Nigeria in a move described by international observers as further confirmation and deepening of the company’s interest in Africa’s biggest economy.
However, Ms. Meng’s surprised visit was unannounced and kept from public glare completely. It was learnt most people in the company in Nigeria had no idea such a ranking official of the company at global level was visiting.
In fact, Huawei officials in Nigeria decline to confirm her visit when contacted, underlining what our sources described as ‘a visit for purely internal meetings only and not for the public.’
Ms. Meng entered Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammad International Airport on May 7, the same day that Huawei’s President for West Africa, Mr. Peng Song, presented the company’s much publicised Global Connectivity Index, which profiled 50 countries globally including Nigeria, placing the West African country at 47th in the ranking.
Huawei and Nigeria seem to be sharing rising profiles in common. In 2012, Huawei overtook Ericsson as the largest telecommunication equipment maker in the world; Nigeria on her part became Africa’s biggest economy as announced in 2014. Besides, Huawei takes the Nigerian telecommunication market, the biggest in Africa, very seriously; hence the visit of Meng, in what is being seen as a forerunner to many other high ranking visitations to be made by the company’s officials.
The Huawei Global CFO, Ms. Meng, described internationally as influential and powerful with a very strong hold on the company, and the daughter of Huawei founder, Ren Zhengfei.
More fully known as Cathy (her English name) Meng Wanzhou, and born in 1972, the largely quiet CFO had in quashed rumours about her private life, which gave wrong impressions about her.
The low-key Meng, speaking about her personal life in an interview with Guangzhou’s 21st Century Business Herald, shortly after making her first public appearance as the CFO of Huawei, lifted the veil from her private life which had remained largely behind the scenes making it a hot topic of speculation.
First, she denied the popular rumour that she had joined Huawei straight out of high school and was therefore unqualified for the senior positions she has held throughout the company.
“I am not just a high school graduate,” she said. “I did attend high school, but I was also fortunate enough to have made it to university.”
Meng said she graduated from university in 1992 and worked at a construction bank for a year before joining Huawei. She said it was true that she began as a receptionist and worked her way up because her father said it was important for her to learn the basics. Initially, she had wanted to study overseas and had even received several offers, but was unable to secure a visa, she said.
After working several years as a secretary, personal assistant and sales staff doing simple administrative tasks such as typing, managing schedules and organising exhibitions, Meng was promoted to director of Huawei’s international accounting department. She has since been the CFO of Huawei’s Hong Kong branch, the president of Huawei’s accounting management department and president of the sales financing and treasury management department, before being appointed company CFO in 2011.
In 1997, she left Huawei briefly to pursue a master’s in accounting from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in central China’s Hubei province. She also holds a doctorate from Nankai University in Tianjin.
Another widespread rumour about Meng which she says is not true is that she is married to fellow Huawei managing director Xi Wenwei. Meng said her real husband is not even in the telecommunications industry and that they have two children, a son and a daughter.
Meng also explained why she does not share her father’s surname, having changed it herself to follow her mother’s surname at the age of 16. She did not, however, divulge the reason behind her decision.
Meng also said that her brother Ren Ping, who had been rumoured to be a successor to their father as Huawei CEO, currently works for a Huawei subsidiary that specialises in travel.