Chen-Jung (Stan) Shih

Designer and developer of Taiwan's first desktop calculator, Shih is also recognized as the founder and former President of the Acer Group. Born in Lukang Township, Changhua County, Taiwan, he has been considered one of the outstanding members of the Taiwanese and global high-tech community between 1980 and 2005 and is recognized around the globe for his achievements in brand-business building and his unique models of management. Shih attended the National Chiao Tung University (Chiao-Ta), from which he obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electronics Engineering in 1968 and 1971 respectively. In 1968, he passed the examination for Chiao-Ta's Electronic Engineering Research Institute.

His plan at that time was to pursue an academic career. He made arrangements for deferred registration at Chiao-Ta and then began his military service. With his background in electronics, Shih easily passed the examination to become a training officer and was assigned to the Phoenix Mountain Army Officer's School in Southern Taiwan as an assistant instructor in physics. After the obligatory thirteen months of service, he returned to Chiao-Ta to begin graduate studies.

In 1969, during his second year at the institute, he attended a conference on "Modern Engineering" where he was exposed to many new ideas about industrial management, thus widening his view to see all aspects of an electronic product like branding, production, marketing, service, and sales. Unlike other ambitious students who went to the U.S. to study in order to return with the best possible qualification for becoming chairmen or presidents of major local enterprises, Shih was more interested in practical business rather than research and development. However, he later changed his outlook and became a successful organizer.

Like many Chinese, he liked to play ping-pong. At Chiao-Ta he became the captain of the official school team; as captain, he had administrative duties which he enthusiastically performed, including a two-month student competition. He was also captain of the volleyball team, and president of the camera, chess, and bridge clubs. Once shy and introverted, Shih became an engaging and forceful student leader. He is quoted as saying, "In organizing the Ping-Pong competition, I became to know and I became friends with all the other students. I learned how to organize and serve. It was a great help to me in later days in business."

Bringing his visions to light, in 1971 he began his career at Unitron Industrial Corporation, assigned to the R&D division, where he successfully designed, developed, and commercialized Taiwan's first desktop calculator. He envisioned what the final product would look like and what its marketing strategy would be. Shih packaged the circuit and took it to a local acrylic sign maker to have him make a casting for it. He then presented the finished product to his boss, Director of R&D Chiu Tsai Hsing, for appraisal, including a product cost analysis report, and offered his opinion on whether the product was commercially feasible.

The product came to market, and although it was not a commercial success, in Taiwan's technological history it is considered to be a milestone as one of the first truly technically commercial products produced entirely by a Taiwan company. Later he was promoted to Manager of Semiconductor Manufacturing, in charge of the packaging of ICs and transistors. In 1972, at the request of Vincent Lin, Shih helped to establish Qualitron Industrial Corporation and led the team that designed the world's first pen watch. As Vice President, he was responsible for R&D, manufacturing, business development, and purchasing.

In September 1976, together with four partners including his wife, Carolyn Yeh, he co-founded Multitech International Corporation — the forerunner of Acer — with US$25,000, headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. Beginning with eleven employees, it was initially primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies. Multitech produced the Micro-Professor MPF-I training kit, then two Apple II clones — the Microprofessor II and III — before joining the emerging IBM PC compatible market and becoming a significant PC manufacturer. The company was renamed Acer in 1989.

Shih led Acer to become a global PC vendor ranking number 3 for total PCs and number 2 for Notebooks worldwide. He played a major role in building Taiwan into a powerhouse of PC design and manufacturing. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of three companies, all of which he had a hand in founding. Shih founded iD SoftCapital, offering "expertise in asset and fund management, and consulting services," and also founded iD TechVentures, Inc., formerly known as Acer Technology Ventures, a leading early-stage tech venture investor in Greater China. He is the author of a book called "Me Too Is Not My Style."