Baidu’s CEO Pursues Long-Term Growth

KyaemonSeptember 23, 20105min2220

An old saying goes, “Find money like the Chinese,……” meaning work hard like them.

Well, here’s another inspirational story of a young man who also made it. His company is Baidu, a rival of Google. We can learn something from his vision.

The Wall Street Journal, a prestigious financial paper, interviewed him and wrote the following article:

Baidu’s Li Sees Growth Overseas – WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703999304575399162122796630.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_smallbiz

Baidu’s CEO Pursues Long-Term Growth

By OWEN FLETCHER


Google Inc.’s pullback in China earlier this year left homegrown giant Baidu Inc. more dominant than ever as China’s biggest search engine.

Now, Robin Li, Baidu’s chief executive, must figure out new ways to grow amid immense investor expectations.

Mr. Li, a soft-spoken 41-year-old engineer who co-founded Baidu in 2000 after a stint in Silicon Valley, dismisses concerns that growth in Baidu’s core China search business will dry up anytime soon. With more than two-thirds of China’s population not yet Internet users, Mr. Li says search advertising will remain Baidu’s main growth driver for five to 15 years.

But he is looking to develop other revenue streams, including overseas and from ads on content pages created by Baidu or partners. He would also consider buying foreign Internet companies.

Baidu has played down its benefit from Google’s moving its China search service to Hong Kong, but Baidu’s share of revenue in China’s search-advertising market grew six percentage points in the second quarter to 70%, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. Google’s share fell by about the same amount—to 24%……

Click video inside the link.