Lenovo 2016 Annual Report Download - page 144

142 Lenovo Group Limited 2015/16 Annual Report
DIRECTORS’ REPORT
BIOGRAPHY OF DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT (continued)
Biography of directors (continued)
Independent non-executive directors
Dr. Tian Suning, 52, has been an independent non-executive director of the Company since August 2, 2007. He is the
founder and chairman of a Chinese focused private equity fund China Broadband Capital Partners, L.P.. He is currently
an independent non-executive director of MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE listed) and Taikang Life Insurance Company
Ltd. He is also an independent director of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Stock Exchange
listed). He held various senior positions in China Netcom Group Corporation (Hong Kong) Ltd. (formerly listed on HKSE
and NYSE) from 2000 to 2007 and was a vice chairman of PCCW Ltd. (HKSE listed) between 2005 and 2007. From 1993
till 1999, he was co-founder and chief executive officer of AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (formerly listed on NASDAQ) of which
he is now a board member. He was previously a non-executive director of China Jiuhao Health Industry Corporation
Limited (HKSE listed). Dr. Tian holds a Ph.D. in natural resource management from Texas Tech University and a M.S.
degree in ecology from Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Mr. Nicholas C. Allen, 61, has been an independent non-executive director of the Company since November 6, 2009. Mr.
Allen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics/social studies from Manchester University, United Kingdom. He
is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a member of the Hong Kong Institute
of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Allen has extensive experience in accounting and auditing and was a partner of
PricewaterhouseCoopers until his retirement in June 2007. Mr. Allen is an independent non-executive director and
the chairman of Link Real Estate Investment Trust (HKSE listed). He is also an independent non-executive director of
CLP Holdings Limited (HKSE listed) and VinaLand Limited (London Stock Exchange AIM listed). He was previously an
independent non-executive director of Hysan Development Company Limited (HKSE listed) and Texon International
Group Limited.
Mr. Nobuyuki Idei, 78, has been an independent non-executive director of the Company since September 28, 2011. Mr.
Idei is the founder and chief executive officer of Quantum Leaps Corporation, an executive advisory company. Until
retiring in June 2005, for more than a decade, Mr. Idei held a wide variety of leadership positions at Sony Corporation
(Tokyo Stock Exchange, Osaka Securities Exchange, NYSE and London Stock Exchange listed), including chairman and
group chief executive officer. He was also the chairman of Sony’s advisory board from June 2005 to June 2012.
Mr. Idei currently serves on the boards of directors of FreeBit Co., Ltd. and Monex Group, Inc. (both Tokyo Stock
Exchange listed) and Stripe International Inc.. Mr. Idei is also chairman of the National Conference on Fostering Beautiful
Forests in Japan. Mr. Idei holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Waseda University in Tokyo.
He has served on the boards of directors of Nestlé S.A., Electrolux, General Motors Company, Accenture plc and Baidu,
Inc. and also served in a number of other advisory positions including as counselor to the Bank of Japan, vice chairman
of Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) and chairman of the IT Strategy Council, an advisory committee to
Japan’s Prime Minister.
Mr. William O. Grabe, 78, has been an independent non-executive director of the Company since February 8, 2012 and
was appointed as the lead independent director of the Company on May 23, 2013. Before that, he was a non-executive
director of the Company since May 17, 2005. Mr. Grabe is currently a director of the following listed companies: Gartner
Inc. (NYSE listed), Covisint Corporation (NASDAQ listed) and QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE listed). He was previously an
independent director of Compuware Corporation. Mr. Grabe is an advisory director of General Atlantic LLC. He formerly
served as a managing director of General Atlantic LLC and has been associated with General Atlantic Group since 1992.
Prior to that, he served as a corporate vice president and officer of IBM.
Mr. William Tudor Brown, 57, has been an independent non-executive director of the Company since January 30, 2013.
Mr. Brown is a Chartered Engineer and holds an MA (Cantab) Degree in electrical sciences from Cambridge University.
He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He
was awarded as Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on June 15, 2013.
Mr. Brown was one of the founders of ARM Holdings plc (“ARM”) (London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ listed).
During the years with ARM, he held a broad range of leadership positions including engineering director, chief technical
officer, executive vice president for global development, chief operating officer and president. He had responsibility for
developing high-level relationships with industry partners and governmental agencies and for regional development. He
also served as a director of ARM from October 2001 to May 3, 2012. Before joining ARM, he was the principal engineer
at Acorn Computers Ltd., working exclusively on the ARM research & development programme since 1984.
Mr. Brown is currently an independent non-executive director of Tessera Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ listed),
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (HKSE listed). He was previously an independent non-executive
director of P2i Limited. He also served on the UK Government Asia Task Force until May 2012.