Zhang Ruimin, CEO of Haier, became the winner of the first “Permanent Achievement Award for China’s Elite Executive,” issued by the Organizing Committee of the Journal of Talents Forum.

This marks the second time Zhang has received a major award from this body, after first being deemed one of “China’s Top 10 Executives” in 2000.

Mr Zhang’s new award is for recognizing spears who have made substantial contribution in the field of business management.

What truly earned Mr Zhang the new honor, however, was his efforts in transforming Haier’s business model.

Shifting away from the conventional top-down command chain, Haier delegated substantial decision-making power to field staff who know the market best, and granted them greater authority to call on resources to respond to customer needs at the first instance possible.

Michael Porter, the father of the modern strategy field, pointed out that Zhang’s strategic thinking has helped set a clear path for Haier.

According to the latest data from Euromonitor, Haier is now the world’s No. 1 producer of white goods (major house appliances). Its major performance indicators, such as days in inventory and working capital turnover, are way ahead of the industrial average.

In the first three quarters of this year, Haier reported a 67% rise in profit from the same period of last year.

By Liang Chen (China Daily Shandong Bureau)

Editor: Li Jing