BYD Company Limited Detailed Research Report ,Management and Leadership Information1

■ Founder and CEO – Wang Chuanfu: BYD was founded by Wang Chuanfu (王传福), who remains the company’s chairman and CEO. Born in 1966 in a farming village in Anhui, China, Wang is a trained chemist and materials scientist.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in metallurgical physical chemistry from Central South University in 1987 and a Master’s from the Beijing General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals.
After graduation, Wang worked as a researcher at the government-run Beijing Nonferrous Metals research institute, where he eventually became deputy director of a lab, gaining expertise in battery materials.
In 1995, with support from a cousin and a small team, Wang founded BYD in Shenzhen (then a startup battery factory) with the vision of producing rechargeable batteries more cheaply and efficiently than Japanese incumbents.
The name “BYD” stands for “Build Your Dreams,” reflecting Wang’s ambition.

Wang Chuanfu’s rise from humble beginnings – an orphaned teenager from rural China – to a billionaire entrepreneur is often compared to great innovators like Henry Ford or Thomas Edison.
He is known for his hands-on management style and engineering prowess. Charlie Munger (the late Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and an early BYD backer) famously praised Wang as a “fanatical engineer” and a genius, noting that Wang’s 70-hour workweeks and willingness to “get his hands dirty” were instrumental in BYD’s survival and growth in its early years.
Under Wang’s leadership, BYD initially achieved success in the mobile phone battery business, becoming in 2002 the first Chinese company to supply batteries to Nokia’s devices, a major milestone.
BYD then expanded into automobiles in the early 2000s, and by 2008, attracted a landmark investment

continued from above: In 2008, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested about $230 million for a ~10% stake in BYD, a strong endorsement of Wang’s vision. Buffett’s vice-chair Charlie Munger lauded Wang as a leader who combined “fanatical” engineering prowess with hands-on execution, even calling him better than Elon Musk in certain regards.
Industry experts have drawn parallels between Wang and Henry Ford, noting that “both entrepreneurs leveraged vertical integration and economies of scale to democratize mobility.” Under Wang’s stewardship, BYD has indeed grown from a small battery workshop into a global EV and battery giant.

■ Key Executives and Roles: Alongside Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s leadership includes several notable figures. Lu Xiangyang, Wang’s cousin, is a co-founder of BYD and currently serves as Vice Chairman.
Lu was an early investor (providing seed capital in 1995) and has played a significant role in the company’s strategic direction and financing. Lian Yubo, BYD’s Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President, oversees the company’s research and development programs. He is often the public face for BYD’s technological vision – for example, Lian spoke at a 2024 industry forum about BYD’s solid-state battery timeline, reflecting his leadership in next-gen tech development.
On the international front, Stella Li (Li Ke), a BYD Executive Vice President, heads the company’s overseas operations. She has been instrumental in BYD’s global expansion, including establishing manufacturing in regions like Europe (she publicly mentioned BYD’s consideration of a third European plant) and building partnerships in markets from Australia to Norway.
Other key managers include specialty division heads – for instance, BYD’s battery division (FinDreams Battery) and semiconductor unit each have dedicated CEOs – and experienced auto industry veterans in charge of design, marketing, and production. The management team blends long-tenured insiders (many of whom grew with the company since its early days) and external experts recruited to guide BYD’s rapid expansion.