Dr. Jack Gao
February 5th, 2007
During my 10 year tenure at Autodesk I had the opportunity to work with some of the most truly brilliant people in the world.
Most of the people I really admired had a strong-suit that I came to understand and identify with. I would see that person as the embodiment of all attributes comprising their forte.
Some people were just incredibly intelligent, some articulate beyond words, some creative story tellers, some masters of social situations. Then there were great sales people, problem solvers, presenters and so forth.
Whenever I found myself in situations calling for a particular skill set, I would just reach within myself and find my mentor, that one person who I considered to be the master of that skill.
I didn’t try to pretend or act like the person, but I made his or her presence become me. It’s as though I would elicit the soul of that individual within me.
The more time I spent with my mentor and the more we genuinely enjoyed each others company, the better friends we became and the easier it would be for me to bring up the touchstone of their being from within me.
Then I met Dr. Jack Gao.
Jack was country manager of China for Autodesk, and I was privileged to visit several times a year and work with him and his team while he was growing business in China to 300+% year over year… way before he was “discovered”.
Jack has limitless enthusiasm, confidence, optimism and energy. He motivates by way of example. He’s an engineer, a sales person, a problem solver, a manager, a spokesperson, a marketer, a financial person…
I struggled to find Jack’s forte but couldn’t. Heck, it’s hard enough even to describe his presence by words alone. I found myself unable to neatly package him up into a particular skill set that I could later emulate, because he seemed to be master of all skill sets.
But this was the point. This was the lesson I learned. There’s just some things you are either born with or not. The key is to find out what those strengths are within you and go with it, be the best at it that you can be.
Jack is a natural leader; A super bright, articulate, dynamic, passionate, energetic, awe-inspiring benefactor to society and scholar to humanity. And these aren’t skill sets that can be emulated, they are core characteristics of his persona. Others can aspire to be this way till they turn blue in the face, but eventually, one finds out that they either are or aren’t this way.
I met up with Jack in Thailand last month and we caught up on all things personal and business. Despite reaching near mogul status, he’s still the same ole good guy, very down to earth and just a super great person down to the core.
Of course I asked him about Rupert, and found his response to strike a chord. He painted a picture about one of their board meetings and the presence Mr. Murdoch had on the group. It wasn’t about money, power, rank, position, legacy, reputation or anything tangible, anything that could be quantified.
There seems to be a universal receptiveness of humans to pick up on greatness, and not of wealth or power, but of the sense that their spirit operates on a much higher plane. Greatness casts an aura like an ocean freighter through narrow canals.
Star has appointed Dr. Jack Gao as its CEO of Star China. Gao will officially join Star in November 2006, and will report to Star CEO Michelle Guthrie.
Based in Beijing, Gao will be in charge of Star’s overall business interests in China. He will be responsible for developing strategic and business directions while also overseeing Star China’s day-to-day operations. Gao has also been appointed VP of News Corporation and will assume the position of chief representative of the News Corporation Beijing representative office, responsible for running News Corporation’s activities in China, informs an official release.
Commenting on Gao’s appointment, Guthrie said, “Jack’s insights to the China market, combined with his wealth of networking and business experience, and a proven track-record of success, make him a unique fit to lead our businesses and growth initiatives in China. We are fortunate to have attracted him to join us.”
“Bringing on someone of Jack’s caliber to lead our China operations underscores Star and News Corporation’s commitment to this important market. As we expand aggressively into the digital media space, Jack’s technology background and experience in running businesses for multinationals such as Microsoft and Autodesk in China will serve as important assets in taking us to the next stage of our development in China,” Guthrie continued.
Gao said, “With China poised for sustained and strong economic growth in the years ahead, a tremendous number of opportunities for dynamic and progressive companies such as Star and News Corporation will continue to open up. I am thrilled at the opportunity to apply my experience in China to Star and News Corporation’s businesses and look forward to working with Michelle and the rest of the talented team at Star and News Corporation in seizing growth opportunities in this exciting marketplace.”
Prior to joining Star, Gao served for more than three years as Apac Emerging Geography VP for Autodesk Inc., where he was responsible for strategy, marketing and sales, product research and development, government and public relations, investments, human resources, finance and administration operations in Greater China and India. Before that, Gao was general partner of Walden International, a leading venture capital firm in the USA. Between 1999 and 2002, Gao was president and general manager of Microsoft (China) Co. Ltd. Prior to joining Microsoft, Gao spent five years with Autodesk, as regional director, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China, the release adds.
Gao holds doctorate, master and bachelor degrees in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Harbin Institute of Technology in China.
