The VentureOutsource.com annual "Top 100 people influencing electronics manufacturing services (EMS)" - 2012

WHO ARE THE TOP PEOPLE influencing the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry the most and how exactly do you define influential?

Making this list is not an easy process. Does ‘influential’ mean the best or brightest people who manage OEM in-house builds; contract their product programs and operations with EMS providers, move markets or control the most MCOGs; impact consumers, inspire others or create debate? In one word, yes.

Not just anyone can accomplish a task to create a list of this magnitude, but we felt we could rise to the occasion. In the process, we reached out to dozens of colleagues and asked for input and suggestions as we created our ‘best of’ list of individuals who make the largest impressions. Several people contributed to helping us create and organize this list.

The result is our list of 100 EMS influencers recognizing academicians; service providers, entrepreneurs, executives, law makers, investors and many others who are leading initiatives or influencing electronics manufacturing operations in some way to also influence and prepare clients; organizations, industries or nations to make better decisions to meet the challenges facing today’s technology decision makers.

Although our decidedly un-scientific list is organized numerically, in assembling this list we focused more on who is and is not included for the sake of diversity. But even a list of 100 can leave room for desire.

We hope you enjoy this collection of influencers affecting the global EMS industry. If you have any suggestions we welcome your comments.

Without further delay, we bring you ‘The VentureOutsource.com top 100 people influencing EMS’ for 2012, in reverse order:

100. Frank Hasbun
A senior buyer with EMS provider CTS Electronics Manufacturing Solutions, Hasbun’s name has surfaced several times with folks we talked with when creating this list, primarily for Hasbun’s customer service and proactive temperament and problem solving skills. (See, also: #58)

99. David Douthit
Based in Silicon Valley, Douthit is a logistics and supply chain executive with Accenture and expert in reverse logistics, a growing market for EMS providers as the trend for full service EMS and ODM offerings includes more high margin back-end supply chain services. Douthit has 20-plus years in third-party logistics; sourcing and procurement, warehousing and repair operations, service parts logistics and contract electronics manufacturing. Part of Douthit’s expertise involves helping companies understand the total landed cost of returns.

98. Susan Filz
Filz is director of industry programs and professional development at IPC. Filz’s influence at IPC and industry contacts lead to her key role in administering IPC’s EMS program manager training and certification program. And, we all know that good EMS program managers add real value to any OEM-EMS relationship while bad program management, well, are just bad. Our hat is off to Susan for helping electronics OEMs and EMS providers, alike, to vastly improve their management of electronics outsourcing programs and relationships. (See, also: #50, #58, #66)

97. Adam Hocherman
Hocherman is president of American Innovative, a growing consumer technology products company Hocherman founded based on the concept of bringing products to market that should exist, but don’t. Following online publication of a very detailed and personal written account of an EMS experience in Asia Hocherman had while contract manufacturing one of his firm’s products, we’ve heard from countless tech product entrepreneurs that it was not until reading Hocherman’s article they felt inspired (with much improved confidence) to set out and fulfill their own dreams of bringing their tech products to market. On behalf of everyone we talked with…thanks, Adam.

96. Jan Husdal
Based in Norway, Husdal is a respected voice of reason on supply chain infrastructure who actively blogs on issues that connect supply chain risk, business continuity and transport vulnerability. When not set up or working properly, infrastructure is one of the key components causing EMS supply chains to falter, especially in emerging EMS regions or areas with political instability. Husdal regularly posts matter-of-fact reviews to his husdol blog domain on papers, books and websites dealing with infrastructure risk that will give any EMS supply chain manager reason to pause.

95. Jim Tompkins
Tompkins is founder, president and CEO of Tompkins International. The firm has been around for 35 years and has a technology and electronics practice. Tompkins views shareholder value as being driven by profitable growth, margin improvement and capital efficiency with all three of these having a tremendous impact on the way supply chains are designed, executed and managed. Tompkins has published an interesting top ten list of issues and opportunities technology companies often face that is worth reading. A prolific speaker, Tompkins has spoken at more than 4,000 international engagements.

94. JoAnn Stromberg
Stromberg is executive administrator at the Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA). To Stromberg’s credit SMTA has grown to become one of the most prominent volunteer-driven organizations serving the worldwide electronics manufacturing industry. With focus on electronics research, packaging and manufacturing at some SMTA conferences, under Stromberg’s direction, SMTA has also discussed outsourcing, EMS vendor management and has begun incorporating some information on EMS industry research, leadership and program management techniques in SMTA conferences and programs, as well.

93. Daniel Lee
Lee is director, purchasing / global materials and supply chain at AsteelFlash Group. A long-time procurement specialist with nearly 20 in purchasing and supply chain management with half that time devoted to the EMS side of the equation, Lee brings to AsteelFlash Group, and the EMS industry, an history of understanding regarding the concerns and specific material issues in the supply chain important to both OEMs and EMS providers.

92. Mitch Free
Free is founder, president and CEO at MFG.com, the largest global online marketplace for the manufacturing community connecting buyers and suppliers of manufactured products from around the world. While the dollar value of the majority of manufacturing engagements in Free’s manufacturing platform involve casting, molding and fabrication the site’s business does have a relatively small dollar value level of activity related to electronics manufacturing / EMS. No one can deny Free is a visionary leader.

91. Jie (Michael) Liu
China’s electronics industry is moving away from assembly of low-end technology products to the design and manufacture of higher value-add products. With China’s electronics market growing, innovation from Chinese companies requires design and sourcing support at basic circuitry levels. This means increased knowledge demand for passive and electromechanical and discrete components. In steps Michael Lie, CEO with Electronic Components Technology Network offering program networks, circuit protection and electromagnetic compatibility seminars, energy-saving design workshops and more, all to help Chinese design engineers (hobbyists, OEM, EMS, ODM) innovate and improve efficiency.

90. Carolyn Williams
At FedEx, Williams manages business services and strategic sourcing for the global delivery giant where Williams is responsible for sourcing more than $700 million annually in enterprise services. With more than 28 years experience in supply chain development, sourcing and procurement, Williams has provided leadership for multiple sourcing initiatives across diverse commodities and services.

89. Alex Chkliar
Chkliar owns Electronics Publications, an online resource for hosting, distributing and purchasing original reports and research on various segments and sectors in the worldwide electronics industry compiled and written by numerous qualified sources and firms. With Chkliar, visitors always see a good variety, and number of, reports available focused on EMS. There is also a free company directory containing some EMS companies.

88. Günter Schindler
Schindler is COO with German SMT equipment manufacturer SIPLACE, an innovator in the technical assembly side of the EMS industry. Under Schindler’s leadership the Company has emphasized a clear focus on coordination between its R&D group and manufacturing in what Schindler refers to as the lead factory principle. Where many organizations de-couple R&D and manufacturing, Schindler promotes the two groups working side by side in proximity to one another, geographically. Literally. This allows R&D to easily leverage the manufacturing arena to better educate the Company’s R&D teams to then enable SIPLACE to continually improve product innovation and performance and meet constantly evolving electronics OEM and EMS end-user market requirements.

87. Wladimir Janousek
Based in Brazil, Janousek is operations manager with EMS provider Foxconn. Janousek has previous program management expertise while also at Foxconn. Janousek also has expertise in business development with a previous EMS provider, plus OEM employment where Jonousek’s responsibilities included sourcing management of EMS and ODM vendors, RFQ/RFP management, contract negotiations and SLA management and benchmarking of all contract manufacturing partners. (See, also: #1, #8, #19, #30, #49, #56, #85)

86. Gerry P. Smith
Here’s an executive not new to supply chain management accolades. Smith earned the award for supply chain executive of the year at SCM Logistics World 2009. That same year under Smith’s leadership, Lenovo also won an award for supply chain excellence which applauds innovation and superior execution in supply chain management. Who said the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree? You can see why Lenovo appointed Smith senior vice president of global supply chain where he is responsible for end-to-end supply chain management encompassing order management, supply / demand planning, procurement, manufacturing and logistics.

85. Edgardo Blanchett
Blanchett is vice president of business planning and logistics at Foxconn the world’s largest EMS provider. A supply chain veteran, Blanchett also developed and implemented supply chain strategies at corporate tech titans like Sony, IBM…where Blanchett honed his ability to build and deploy initiatives aimed at enhancing and streamlining supply and demand management. (See, also: #1, #8, #19, #30, #49 #56, #87)

84. Srinivasa Moorthy
Moorthy is head of the design center in India for global EMS provider Sanmina-SCI. Moorthy has senior R&D, executive-level product design and global operations experience with development, and product development management, for both western and Indian products in the telecommunications and networking; medical devices, automotive and avionics markets. (See, also: #11, #22, #21, #26, #45, #76)

83. Kevin Davenport
Senior director in global procurement with Harman International, Davenport adds an OEM production operations perspective, with P&L responsibility and managing manufacturing cost models, plus oversight with EMS and ODM contract negotiations, to his long list of qualifications supporting Davenport’s understanding of global procurement and optimizing supply chains.

82. Douglas Kent
Kent is vice president with Avnet Velocity, a unit of leading international components distributor Avnet. An Avnet alumni, Kent’s return role allows him to hit the ground running with a mandate to expand supply chain support and solutions to the firm’s largest customers and suppliers. Avnet can rest assured Kent’s deep connections in the electronics industry and previous experience with international supply chain management consulting projects accompanied by a thorough understanding of tech supply chain challenges Kent acquired from bringing OEM and EMS providers together in professional networking environments will serve Kent and Avnet well. (See, also: #39)

81. Katherine Lewis
Lewis is director of procurement and sourcing solutions with IHS Global Insight. A trained economist with a mathematical influence focused on purchasing into supply chain requirements and forecasts, Lewis understands the relationships between developing tools for supply chain procurement strategy and execution and then meeting the needs of executives for better decision making across the enterprise.

80. Nev Rowbottom
Based in Hong Kong, Rowbottom is operations director with Mantis Electronics specializing in purchasing and supply chain management for the European market. Working primarily with small- to medium-sized organizations, Rowbottom helps with their electronics product sourcing and purchasing needs, design for manufacturing and test and NPI all through to surface mount production volume runs.

79. Liam Casey
Casey is founder at PCH International. Casey’s firm provides outsourcing operational expertise for supply chain management solutions in Asia / China. His firm focuses on outsourcing of consumer electronics products and serves the entire technology product supply chain; from concept and branding to product delivery, including design and engineering, sourcing, manufacturing and inventory management and fulfillment. PCH also offers a number of proprietary tools to help clients manage their outsourcing engagements.

78. Robert M. Monczka
Monezka is distinguished research professor of supply chain management at the W. P. Carey school of business at Arizona State University and director, strategic sourcing and supply chain strategy research at Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS) Research, where Monczka is also leading Project 10X for CAPS, which is an on-going research initiative to determine the next generation of sourcing and supply chain strategies that will lead to breakthrough improvements. For 25+ years, and counting, Monczka has researched, taught and consulted regarding strategic sourcing and supply chain management strategies and their implementation. Currently, Monezka is also principle investigator on two major National Science Foundation projects focused on purchasing and supply measurement and supplier integration into new product development. (See, also: #54, #56, #59, #62, #77)

77. Cuihong Li
Assistant professor of operations and information management at the school of business, University of Connecticut, Li is passionate about finding ways technology OEM companies can take cost out of their supply chains while leveraging strengths of their EMS partners. A number of EMS industry articles surfaced, written by others in industry, about the various assumed risks in the OEM-EMS relationship immediately following an article we wrote with considerable information contributed by Li and her research. Li’s insightful approach into various ways OEMs can possibly lower outsource design and manufacturing costs through better EMS provider management is great reading for any OEM wanting to reduce costs. (See, also: #54, #56, #59, #62, #78)

76. Sunil Vachani
Vachani is chairman and managing director at Indian EMS provider Dixon Technologies. Under Vachani’s leadership, Dixon serves India’s domestic and international consumer electronics and appliances markets. Vachani’s objective is for Dixon to eventually manufacture 15% of the Indian market’s requirements for consumer electronics; lighting, appliances, set-top boxes and other categories. To accomplish this, Vachani’s plans include relying on Dixon’s depth of engineering talent and R&D experience. (See, also: #11, #21, #26, #45, #84)

75. Robert Yap Chin Kok
Yap is chairman and CEO of YCH Group, Singapore’s leading end-to-end supply chain operations company providing supply chain management solutions spanning the entire Asia Pacific region. Yap is also a council member with the Singapore Business Federation. With more than 30 years of experience in logistics and supply chains, as the world has become more dynamic – especially in the Asia Pacific region – Yap recognized early on the importance of building stronger and more capable supply chains, and that people must rely on one another to do this. It is this type of thinking which lead Yap to become a strong endorser of personal professional development. Yap constantly encourages young professionals to grow by knowledge sharing through networking.

74. Masatsune Yamaji
Based in Japan, Yamaji is semiconductor principal research analyst with Gartner Research with focus on semiconductor demand consumption. Yamaji’s reports are reviewed at various levels across the supply chain at electronics OEM, ODM and EMS provider companies, by region, by device and by application. Yamaji’s research is often cited by semiconductor business development executives when developing strategies for allocating design-in activity and possible distribution channels. (See, also: #32, #35, #36, #37, #43, #44, #49, #51, #69)

73. Stefano Baggio
Baggio is senior director of purchasing for the APAC region with multinational lighting manufacturer Osram’s Asia Pacific division. This executive knows corporate procurement. With spend responsibility canvassing 12 manufacturing facilities in 6 countries, Baggio has accrued an impressive amount of materials supply chain management and leadership expertise including management of ODM and EMS finished product hubs.

72. Shoshanah Cohen
Cohen, a certified fellow in production and inventory management by APICS, is one of the leaders of operational excellence consulting firm PRTM’s worldwide supply chain innovation practice. A book, titled: ‘Strategic supply chain management: the five disciplines for top performance’, which Cohen co-authored with fellow PRTM colleague Joseph Roussel, has become the industry bible for supply chain management practitioners. Cohen has assisted numerous management teams in redesigning their processes for dramatic improvements in productivity; increasing production flexibility and customer service levels, and greatly reducing inventory investment. Cohen is also founding member of the Supply Chain Council and one of the original developers of SCOR, the supply chain operations reference model.

71. Steve DeWaters
DeWaters is a consultant. If you’re an EMS provider and you’re new to defense or you want to get involved in defense, we can’t think of anyone more suitable to talk with than DeWaters, a seemingly permanent fixture in many prime contractor factories and EMS provider facilities serving the defense electronics end market. This non-traditional EMS sector is growing at a faster CAGR than the overall worldwide EMS market and its one reason many EMS providers not currently serving defense want to become qualified.

70. Robert Freid
Robert Freid has a consulting practice on electronics manufacturing services. He once worked in the electronics manufacturing services industry support manufacturing and program management. Robert has written several articles on outsourcing electronics and he has presented talks on the subject of contract manufacturing.

69. Randy Abrams
Abrams is a certified financial analyst with Credit Suisse. Abrams and his team provide equity research on electronic equipment and technology hardware. Under Abrams’ direction, his team spends a lot of time gathering and writing about product in EMS supply chains with some of the world’s biggest EMS players. Whether its handsets, tablets or various other tech products Abrams’ reports are comprehensive, often drilling down much further and with more effort revealing a greater deal of transparency in product supply chains for products companies in Abrams’ universe whether its by comparing pricing for competing products or adding additional research on secondary and tertiary vendors in a particular product’s supply chain. (See, also: #32, #35, #36, #37, #43, #44, #49, #51, #74)

68. Randall Sherman
Randall is founder and president at New Venture Research which provides business intelligence, growth management and advisory services to technology companies. Sherman also publishes his annual report, ‘The Worldwide Electronics Assembly Market’ focusing on the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. Sherman’s firm also publishes other electronics industry reports, all with original content and balanced assumptions highlighting trends and forecasts across their respective technology sectors

67. Pamela Gordon
Gordon is founder and president with consulting and research firm Technology Forecasters. Gordon was one of the first to bring OEM and EMS decision makers together in one location on a large scale to encourage discussion and collect information on like-minded EMS industry concerns with an industry quarterly forum agenda which Gordon later divested. A visionary, Gordon was also one of the first in the electronics industry to promote clean and green mindfulness in corporate board rooms with her 2001 book, ‘Lean and Green: Profit for Your Workplace and the Environment.’

66. Susan Mucha
Mucha is president at Powell-Mucha Consulting which helps EMS providers improve internal systems and go-to-market strategies for better OEM account acquisition and building EMS brands. Mucha penned a book on EMS account acquisition titled, ‘Find It. Book It. Grow It’ which has become read by many EMS industry business development, marketing and sales professionals. Mucha has also been involved with IPC coursework development and teaching regarding EMS program management. (See, also: #50, #58, #98)

65. Harold L. Sirkin
A senior partner with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Sirkin oversees the firm’s operations practice. His depth of knowledge and scope of understanding of global supply chain operations is impressive by any metric. Sirkin has co-authored several BCG reports including ‘Capturing Global Advantage’ (2004), ‘Globalizing R&D: Knocking Down the Barriers’ (2005) and ‘Globalizing R&D: Building a Pathway to Profits’ (2005). His recent BCG report titled: ‘Made in America Again: Why manufacturing will return to the U.S.’ (2011) was co-authored with fellow BCG colleagues Michael Zinser and Douglas Hohner.

64. Nikko Chan
Chan is enterprise supply chain director for Western Europe at Huawei, the Chinese networking equipment giant. Chan has been with the company since 2005 and has steadily climbed the managerial ladder from his first position with the Company as a senior logistics specialist to become a major supply chain thought leader in Europe. Chan’s focus is on design and developing European logistics / supply chain network and strategy. Chan oversees logistics, EMS and service provider management, budget and cost management for Huawei’s European region. We’re betting that as Huawei’s business continues to expand and requires delicate supply chain and supplier adjustments with careful fine-tuning Chan will continue to rise to the occasion.

63. John Myers
Myers is a jack-of-all-trades. Over the years, the former furniture maker, realtor and Texas-based pastor has simultaneously offered electronics industry recruitment services in the name of his EMS industry search and placement firm Step Beyond, where Myers devotes most of his time and energy today. Myers also stays active with his industry Linkedin group.

62. Gary L. Ragatz
Associate professor at Michigan State University, Ragatz instructs students and anyone else fortunate enough to hear his pearls of wisdom, in the art of procurement, operations and supply chain management. Ragatz is the co-director of Michigan’s Broad School’s purchasing and supply chain management executive seminar. He has authored and co-authored a small library (26 books) on supply chain management and operations and is an associate editor for Journal of Supply Chain Management, and he serves on the Editorial Review Board for Journal of Operations Management and Decision Sciences. (See, also: #54, #56, #58, #59, #71, #78)

61. Charlie Barnhart
Founder and principle at Charlie Barnhart & Associates, this consultancy run by Barnhart focuses on EMS industry best practices and strategy while also serving up some original research. Barnhart offers a seminar designed to highlight best practices on EMS global pricing methodology plus an outsourcing navigator classwork series taught for the benefit of both EMS and OEM companies.

60. Steve Dickinson
Dickinson, an attorney with the law offices of Harris & Moure, co-authors the ‘China Law Blog’ with fellow H&M attorney, Dan Harris. Dickinson is based in Qingdao, China where he speaks and writes Mandarin Chinese fluently. The majority of Dickinson’s practice primarily serves foreign companies that engage in business dealings in China. Dickinson’s focus is on international and China corporate and commercial law; international and China intellectual property protection and technology licensing law, China law, and China outsourcing law.

59. XianDe Zhao
Zhao is professor of operations management in the department of decision sciences and managerial economics, and director of Center for Supply Chain Management and Logistics at Li & Fung Institute of Supply Chain Management / Logistics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. One can easily say Zhao understands Asian and global supply chains. Not to rest on previous appointments, Zhao is also president of the International Association for Information and Management Sciences and vice president of Asia Pacific Institute of Decision Science. Recognized for his achievements at the PRC’s highest levels, Zhao was also selected into the recruitment program of global experts by the organization department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 2010. No doubt, Zhao has infinite influence in supply chain management research as it relates to further development across the greater China mainland, and beyond China’s borders. (See, also: #54, #56, #62, #71, #78)

58. Don Schroeder
Former president with EMS provider CTS Corporation, Schroeder, now retired and consulting in the EMS industry, also is serving a second term board position with IPC where he chairs the executive market and technology steering committee. During his tenure at CTS, Schroeder ran a tight ship financially and if measured against any metric regarding his ability to get things done. An insightful leader with a good dose of fairness in his business dealings, Schroeder left CTS having laid a good foundation for the company to continue to prosper. (See, also: #50, #62, #66, #98, #100)

57. Jouni Hartikainen
In 2011 Hartikainen resigned from his roles of both president and CEO at European EMS provider Elcoteq amid the Company experiencing financial distress. At one time, Elcoteq held promise in the EMS industry under Hartikainen’s leadership because of Elcoteq’s unique EMS model dedicated to serving mobile and handset markets. While not currently involved in EMS directly, Hartikainen is included in our 2012 list because at the time when EMS providers were diversifying and forging into various new markets – incorrectly leading many EMS providers to lose their focus – Hartikainen cut a new path in industry and narrowed his Company’s focus to leverage deep internal expertise in telecom. It also important to point out that during Hartikainen’s leadership at Elcoteq a few EMS providers we talked with, then, also wondered if they too should follow with a similar narrow service offering.

56. Teng Bingsheng
Associate dean of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and associate professor of strategic management in Beijing, China. Teng is responsible for the CKGSB MBA program. Teng has published more than 20 articles on business partnerships, strategic risk taking and other related topics. A lot of Teng’s research is included in many textbooks on strategic management. It was Teng’s article on the suicides at Taiwanese EMS provider Foxconn that originally got our attention. Teng was one of the first to perceive the tragedies at Foxconn as highlight shortcomings in Foxconn’s management philosophy. Teng’s writing / voice encouraging companies to reassess their workplace cultures obsessed with efficiency has been heard by many. (See, also: #1, #8, #19, #30, #49, #54, #59, #62, #71, #78, #85, #87)

55. Fred Tiso
Tiso is vice president worldwide hardware, software and service supply chains at Citrix Systems. At the forefront of the cloud computing wave, Tiso, a 20-plus year veteran familiar with OEM-EMS engagements, has extensive experience managing all aspects of outsourced supply chains with global EMS partners. From sourcing and NPI to predictive manufacturing cost modeling; materials management, cost reductions and reverse logistics, there’s probably very little Tiso has not seen.

54. Hau Lee
Lee is the Thoma professor of operations, Stanford graduate school of business information and technology and is considered by some to be the world’s foremost academic expert on global supply chain management. Lee is an authority on how businesses can gain advantage by strategically managing their supply networks, including the behind-the-scenes flow of materials, information – and last but not least – money needed to produce goods and services. Working with electronics and non-tech companies alike, Lee has played a major role in the birth of modern supply chain management in these companies and in industry. (See, also: #56, #59, #62, #71, #78)

53. Jozsef Voros
Based in Hungary, Voros is director, strategic purchasing and operations excellence at European EMS provider VIDEOTON Holding. A consummate professional, Voros’ previous experiences in design and development engineering, and as a former business unit manager with tier-1 EMS provider Jabil, provides Voros the added scope, and depth, to serve VIDEOTON’s customers, and the greater EMS industry, with the level of quality and productivity Voros can deliver. (See, also: #15, #21, #27, #48)

52. John Tuck
Tuck is publisher of ‘Manufacturing Market Insider’ (MMI), a subscription-only, eight-page monthly newsletter available online or in print covering global electronics outsourcing and EMS with each issue containing an original cover story, feature articles, industry news and more – all written by this EMS industry veteran. Tuck also compiles and publishes an annual list of the top 50 EMS providers based on MMI’s ranking methodology.

51. Sean Hannan
Hannan provides equity research for investment bank Needham & Co.. Hannan maintains a good grasp on the intricacies of OEM relationships and their relative outsourcing product programs with their EMS provider partners. Frequently, Hannan’s report writing, with commentary, regarding EMS providers goes a step further than most with Hannan providing additional insight into his reasoning. (See, also: #32, #35, #36, #37, #43, #44, #49, #69, #74)

50. Walt Custer
Custer has been a fixture in EMS, and the greater electronics industry in general, for years providing valuable trend and metrics information – all accompanied by Custer’s straight up style of analysis and his sound assumptions based on solid reasoning about the global technology business environment. Custer is a recipient of both the IPC President’s Award and the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award. (See, also: #58, #66, #98)

49. Jamie Wang
Wang is research analyst for research and consulting firm Gartner. Wang’s focus is on electronics hardware outsourcing for both EMS and original design manufacturing (ODM) for the Asia / Pacific region. It’s safe to say Wang has numerous connections across Asia and she knows a thing or two about some of the challenges the world’s largest EMS provider [Foxconn] has faced over recent years. “Foxconn’s suicide tragedies can act as a warning and a lesson to all manufacturers with huge labor forces in China, as they may encounter similar difficulty if they engage in comparable practices,” Wang was quoted saying. “Labor management in China is getting increasingly difficult, and all OEM / EMS / ODM companies should take the matter seriously.” (See, also: #1, #8, #19, #30, #32, #35, #36, #37, #43, #44,#51, #56, #69, #74, #85, #87)

48. David Johnson
Johnson’s name surfaced a lot during industry conversations when compiling our list. Director of strategic development for tier-1 EMS provider Jabil, Johnson has been with the Company a while, steadily accumulating more responsibility and influence. Fluent in Japanese, Johnson, a detail-oriented leader often sees things outside-the-box, finding opportunity where many others could not. (See, also: #15, #21, #27, #53)

47. Peg Corbett
Corbett is a global sourcing and contract agreements professional currently in charge of supply chain optics sub-contracting at Goodrich. With a strong career background in global PCBA / commodity / COTS sourcing and solid skills in EMS supplier evaluations and EMS program management; price negotiations, and manufacturing operations environments, Corbett has seen both sides of the fence and is likely to anticipate / root cause problems before many others might, making Corbett a valuable ally for primes, OEM or EMS employers focused on cost containment and managing the fine balance between productivity and quality.

46. Steve Chalgren
Chalgren deeply understands the issues and complexities of DfM when manufacturing technology products. Chalgren spent nearly 10 years in this exact environment before later moving into software product development designed to solves problems manufacturers face. Today, as vice president product management and strategy with Arena Solutions, Chalgren is responsible for charting Arena’s product roadmap and helping OEM and EMS providers better understand how and when components that make up the final product come into the assembly and manufacturing process and their relative impact on purchasing and inventory availability. If your tech product shipment was delivered on time, and without expedite costs, there’s a chance Chalgren had a hand in it happening this way.

45. Alok Bharadwaj
Bharadwaj is current president-elect of India’s Manufacturer’s Association of IT Industry (MAIT) while simultaneously carrying out his senior vice president responsibilities with his employer, Canon India. MAIT represents particular segments of India’s IT industry such as hardware and hardware design; training, R&D, and other associated service segments with MAIT’s charter being to create a global competitive Indian IT Industry. MAIT has courted support of India’s domestic electronics capabilities participating in EMS in the past under a previous MAIT president-elect. If EMS in India is to get more attention, we feel Bharadwaj is just the person who can get all parties working together and accomplish this. (See, also: #11, #21, #26, #76, #84)

44. Sherry Scribner
Scribner, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, is known for her EMS industry company financial analysis. Scribner follows several EMS providers for the bank but makes Scribner stand out is her depth in understanding of the complex supply chains EMS providers often have and their relationships with EMS-vendor partnerships. You’ll sometimes find Scribner speaking at technology conferences sponsored by the bank. But don’t get fooled into thinking Scribner’s presentations are self-promoting the bank’s larger interests. Scribner writes from an EMS perspective few EMS analysts can. (See, also: #32, #35, #36, #37, #43, #49, #51, #69, #74)

43. Jim Suva
An analyst with Citi, Suva follows the EMS industry. Suva is known in industry for the quality of research and related report writing Suva and his team publishes on the EMS industry. We see a lot of reports generated quarterly regarding pertaining to EMS and we can easily say Suva’s reports are some of the best. Period. (See, also: #32, #35, #36, #37, #44, #49, #51, #69, #74)

42. Eric Xu
Based in China, Xu is global components commodity director at GE Energy Power Electronics. A disciplined team player with a good deal of knowledge in managing product program migrations across borders, Xu has considerable understanding of the various segments of technology supply chains whether its BOM development and NPI to manufacturing processes, international trade and logistics, all further enhanced by solid sourcing; inventory management and cost analysis capabilities.

41. Lisa Panwell
Panwell is director, global product program management, Android performance smartphones and tablets at Motorola Mobility, recently acquired by Google. Panwell is the right person to help Google challenge Apple’s model by putting [Motorola] software on Google hardware. Panwell has an impressive mix of software development; product portfolio and global program management experience to leverage Motorola’s 14,000+ patents, plus 6,000+ pending patents to supercharge the Android platform and increase competition in mobile computing. No doubt, this will translate to greater product variation and increased outsourcing of high-volume / low-mix mobile products with EMS and ODM partners as mobile computing continues to gain desire among consumers while taking more product market share from notebooks. (See, also: #33)

40. Zhongfu Cui
Cui is vice president and secretary general of China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the only comprehensive community organization of China’s logistics and purchasing industry approved by China’s State Council. With previous experiences with China’s State Council; State Economic and Trade Commission, and National Development and Reform Commission, Cui has solid understanding of China’s macroeconomics, and influences thereof, as well as how logistics and purchasing should develop and how their respective roles play into being key components in any successful organization where procurement and distribution hold true.

39. Mark Larson
Larson is president and COO with electronics distributor Digi-Key. Larson’s name surfaced numerous times in conversations with supply chain managers and academicians, and buyers in OEM and EMS companies commenting on Digi-Key’s innovative ways to make supply chain relationships more responsive. Larson and his executive team understood early on that committed inventory in OEM-EMS supply chains can be an Achilles heel when demand changes. Operating from a single location able to source to anywhere by leveraging existing channels and resources in place near buyers internationally, regionally and locally, Larson has organically grown revenues at a rate equal to, and even faster than, many distributors growing through acquisitions. This lower, fixed asset model is part of the reason Larson’s team leads the distribution industry with a faster response to sudden customer increases in production quantities and with lower operating costs when compared to traditional distributors. (See, also: #82)

38. Ard Verboon
Verboon is director of strategic sourcing ODM, EMS and displays with Avaya. Based in Singapore and accompanied by an engineering background with a long history of purchasing, Verboon has an eye for details with an understanding (based on real experience) with numerous OEM-EMS/ODM partnership models. In short, Verboon understands the granularity of the EMS industry enabling him to make informed assumptions to successfully guide Verboon in his decision-making.

37. Ray Carpenter
Director at Southwest Securities, Carpenter has worked with companies and investors in the electronics, outsourced manufacturing and distribution industries for over 15 years as an equity research analyst and investment banker. Carpenter has authored or co-authored several well-respected and nationally recognized investment and corporate finance articles on the electronic manufacturing services (EMS), electronics distribution and printed circuit board (PCB) industries. (See, also: #32, #35, #36, #43, #44, #49, #51, #69, #74)

36. Michael Palma
Palma is research manager, worldwide EMS research at IDC. A Silicon Valley native and leading industry research analyst covering the EMS sector and the original design manufacturing (ODM) industry, Palma is well positioned, and well known for, making informed assumptions about electronics manufacturing value chains. Palma writes a number of quarterly reports on EMS for IDC and the firm’s clients. One in particular, ‘Worldwide IDC Electronics Manufacturing Services Market Forecast’ is widely distributed in industry. Quoted widely in industry, he’s also written for VentureOutsource.com. Talk with Palma for 10 minutes about EMS and you’ll see why he made our list. Also a dog lover, ask Palma about his Australian cattle dog, Sparky. (See, also: #32, #35, #37, #43, #44, #49, #51, #69, #74)

35. Kevin Kessel
Kessel, a former Wall Street analyst covering the EMS sector and well known during that period for his thoughtful analysis and carefully calculated evaluations of EMS providers surely knows his way around EMS balance sheets, P&L and cash flow statements. Today, Kessel is vice president of investor relations with tier-1 provider Flextronics. While it was just a a few years ago Kessel used to wait in line with other analysts to speak with EMS executives during their quarterly conference calls with Wall Street, today, Kessel accompanies Flextronics CEO Mike McNamara and members of McNamara’s executive team as they field calls from analysts interested in the latest release of Flextronics’ quarterly earnings report. (See, also: #17, #29, #32, #36, #43, #44, #49, #51, #69, #74)

34. Sharlett Combs
Combs is well equipped in managing OEM-EMS relationships. A global supply chain manager at Lucent with responsibility for EMS operations and OEM-EMS contract management, Combs has seen quite a bit over the years when it comes to product transfers and effective management of external manufacturing operations with EMS providers and other supply chain vendors and their relationships.

33. Ken Shurko
Shurko is senior manager for EMS / ODM outsourcing at Motorola. Shurko’s experience in supplier quality engineering; outsourcing commodity management, supply chain management and EMS / ODM contracts and partnerships management firmly establishes Shurko as a key player in the development and execution of Motorola’s outsourcing design and manufacturing initiatives and strategy with industry-leading EMS and ODM providers. (See, also: #41)

32. Will Stein
A certified financial analyst with investment bank Credit Suisse, Stein and his team of research analysts published an earlier report on what we believe to be the seminal work describing how component manufacturers generate revenue. The insightful report is based on a deep understanding of the relationships between component manufacturers and OEM and EMS provider companies and the important roles played by both chip and product designers. (See, also: #35, #37, #43, #44, #49, #51, #69, #74)

31. Ruimin Zhang
Born the same year as the birth of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang is CEO of Haier Group, the world’s No.1 consumer appliances brand and fourth-largest white appliances company. In 2009, Zhang was selected by BusinessWeek as one of China’s most powerful people. Zhang was instrumental in Haier adopting e-commerce for procurement; re-organizing Haier’s supplier base from 2,000 vendors to 200, managing supplier information electronically, engaging suppliers early with product front-end design and using EMS providers to contracting Haier’s manufacturing so Haier can focus on sales and services. Zhang no doubt leads the Chinese consumer appliances industry with a new meaning for the words “Made in China.”

30. Mike Daisey
Daisey, a terrific storyteller nearly all his life, is an entertaining and successful performer and monologist. Daisey is well known in technology supply chain and EMS circles, and beyond, for his powerfully provocative and informative one-man show: ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs’ in which he performs on stage in front of live audiences. Daisey’s performance recounts his travels to China where Daisey interviewed dozens and dozens of employees who work for Foxconn, the world’s largest EMS provider, which, as most people know, has been in the news for a while for its treatment of workers and workers’ rights issues. Daisey, through sheer luck and a bit of a magician’s craft, got employees from Foxconn’s largest factory to open up to him about Foxconnn factory working conditions and the Company’s treatment of workers while they’re busy assembling iPhones and other wildly popular consumer electronics products for Apple, Foxconn’s customer. Perhaps Daisey’s performance played some part in Apple’s recent stepping up efforts to become more involved with how Apple’s supply chain partners treat their employees. A great performer, Daisey is worth seeing. (See, also: #1, #8, #19, #49, #56, #85, #87)

29. Michael Marks
Marks was CEO of EMS provider Flextronics from 1994 to 2006, afterward becoming chairman of the board, until 2008 when he stepped down. While he is no longer active directly in the EMS industry, during Marks’ tenure at Flextronics he was known for being a calculating risk-taker supported by a clear vision. During a time when many companies were downsizing and spinning off divisions, Marks was the first to recognize EMS provider size mattered and a vertically integrated EMS provider with a global footprint could do things smaller, and even many larger providers, could not. This insight contributed to a series of Flextronics acquisitions thus aiding the Company’s growth and ultimate competitive advantage, for the time being. It is believed Marks coined the phrase, “It’s not the big that eat the small, its the fast that eat the slow.” And Flextronics did move fast. Under Marks’ leadership revenues grew from $300 million in 2006 to more than $8 billion by the time Marks left. (See, also: #17, #35)

28. Carl Levin (D). U.S. Senate – Michigan
Senator Levin is current chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In 2010, Sen. Levine’s committee investigated counterfeit electronics components finding their way into systems manufactured and assembled by EMS providers and defense primes and used by U.S. military personnel. The committee evaluated 1,800 cases of suspected counterfeit electronics parts. Staff then chose more than 100 of those cases to trace back through the supply chain resulting in greater than 70% of those cases leading to China. Surely, defense electronics is not the only end-market being manipulated by brokers and sellers of counterfeit components. Regardless, such findings are only the tip of the iceberg and are enough to cause any reasonable components buyer to heighten their due diligence with vendors and suppliers. We applaud Sen. Levine’s sense of urgency and determination for combating any counterfeit component in any supply chain. TIME Magazine named him one of America’s 10 best senators.

27. John Caltabiano
Caltabiano is vice president sourcing and supply chain management with Jabil, a top 10 global EMS provider and one of the better-managed providers in industry. EMS can be a tricky business with MCOGs being the largest cost center for most technology hardware programs. Caltabiano is an EMS industry supply chain and procurement veteran when it comes to establishing and negotiating terms with vendors and suppliers to meet cost objectives. Someone who clearly understands purchase price variance (PPV), Caltabiano is part of the reason why Jabil has been successful in recent years. (See, also: #15, #21, #48, #53)

26. Pavan Ranga
Ranga is CEO of Rangsons Electronics, one of the leading Indian EMS providers in India. Serving customers in India, United States, Europe, Japan and China, under Ranga’s leadership and with the support of a skilled senior management team, Rangsons has become well known in the EMS industry for being very proficient with complex, high-mix electronics contract manufacturing serving the non-traditional markets: medical, industrial, automotive, defense and aviation. (See, also: #11, #21, #45, #76, #84)

25. Xuebin Zhang
Zhang is executive chairman and CEO of Skyworth Digital Holdings, which is a leading Chinese TV manufacturer based in Shenzhen also focused on high-end digital products and upstream components like LCD screens. In 2001, when Zhang joined the group he was responsible for overseeing business operations and strategy implementation. Today, Zhang leads with a distinctive strategy that includes supply chain management principles with a solid commitment to execution further emphasized by Skyworth having logistic centers across China: Shuangliu, Chengdu; Yichun, Jiangxi and Lishui, Nanjing. Zhang believes that being competitive and successful in today’s marketplace has more to do with the Company’s entire supply chain team working together which only then can determine the competitiveness of the final product. Zhang’s supply chain insights have impacted the perception, and the importance of, supply chains in the eyes of numerous other Chinese electronics industry executives.

24. Kevin Harrington
Harrington is senior director of global business operations for Cisco, the Internet networking giant, where he is responsible for worldwide manufacturing. Harrington’s office is ground zero for Cisco’s worldwide business operations; strategic direction and planning. Harrington oversees all of the organization including; business planning, mergers and acquisitions integration, global program management operations, organizational learning and development, business intelligence, strategy, talent excellence, and executive communications. (See, also: #5)

23. Zhengfei Ren
Known as one of the most mysterious entrepreneurs in China, Ren is founder and president of Huawei Technologies, a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solution provider. Before founding Huawei with only RMB 21,000 in 1987, Ren worked in logistics services for Shenzhen South Sea Oil Corporation. The Chinese people are very proud of Ren, whose company today competes directly with historically world-famous enterprises like Cisco and IBM. A previously, well publicized story in the Chinese press talks about Ren hiring IBM integrated supply chain (ISC) management systems for some consulting work. Ren was quoted saying, “Huawei’s issues will be resolved when ISC’s issues are resolved.”

22. Jure Sola
Sola is founder, chairman and CEO of EMS provider Sanmina-SCI. Where many publicly-traded companies in any industry have typically faltered when one person holds both chairman of the board and CEO roles, the fact Sola has claimed both titles for so long is testament to his influence and leadership capabilities, and EMS industry understanding. We are equally impressed with Sola’s ability within Sanmina-SCI to create one of the largest EMS business segments serving the medical electronics outsourcing community. (See, also: #84)

21. T. Vasu
Vasu is the current elected president with ELCINA – Electronic Industries Association of India alongside being a director at Tandon Group. Vasu has both public and private sector electronics manufacturing executive experience. A previous managing director of Tandon Group’s Celetronix Power, India (which was sold to EMS provider Jabil in 2006), Vasu is also past chairman of the Export Promotion Council for export oriented units (EOU) and special economic zones (SEZ) so Vasu knows a lot about building industry. ELCINA activities include development and coordinating common interest of Indian electronic hardware manufacturers with those of manufacturers of electronics materials, machinery and service providers, for accelerating industry growth in India. Vasu’s background in EMS and experience with EOUs and SEZs makes him a good resource for helping promote India’s recent renewed interest in domestic EMS. (See, also: #11, #15, #21,  #26, #27, #45, #48, #53, #76, #84)

20. Matthijs Glastra
According to research firm Strategies Unlimited, 10 companies accounted for more than 68% of the worldwide LED supply in 2011. Philips Lumileds is one of them. Glastra, an executive leader in industrial and energy efficiency industries, is COO at Lumileds. LED technology is part of the hot and fast-growing clean and green energy end-market many EMS providers have begun aggressively chasing in recent years as sustainability becomes ever more important to corporations and consumers. For EMS providers, the strategy allows for deeper penetration into the growing automotive electronics; medical, mobile phone, display (TV and PC) and lighting markets — each of which Philips Lumileds also serves. ODM and EMS providers can count on Glastra’s leadership delivering an ample supply of high-quality LEDs with few, if any, bubbles in the supply chain.

19. Debby Chan
Other labor and human rights activists have voiced concerns on the global stage for workers being mistreated in Chinese factories but when you add EMS and China it typically equates to Foxconn – which can also lead you to think of Apple. And no activist has been more of a thorn in the side of Apple, and Foxconn, than Chan. With an impressive list of advisors to help set organization policy and direction, Chan’s Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) yields influence, and gets attention. Some in the EMS industry say it was efforts by SACOM that influenced Apple’s recent decision to publicly release the list of names of Apple’s supply chain suppliers and vendors. Meanwhile, Apple CEO Cook publicly expressed a committed interest to work with supply chain vendors to correct any violations. (See, also: #1, #8, #30, #49, #56, #85, #87)

18. Joe Tucci
Tucci is chairman, president and CEO at EMC, the world’s biggest maker of corporate data storage equipment. Tucci has EMC’s cross hairs on cloud computing, one of the fastest growing technology markets that delivers shared computing power combined with software and storage services from centralized data locations to desktops, notebooks, mobile handsets and tablets. Also a sharp practitioner when it comes to leveraging contract electronics manufacturing, Tucci, for years, has been an advocate of partnering EMC with several EMS providers to leverage various types operational expertise to help EMC meet its supply chain flexibility and operational objectives.

17. Tom Linton
Previously, Linton was chief procurement officer for LG Electronics. Recently he was appointed to the CPO role at Flextronics where he is responsible for supply chain activities and overseeing the Company’s supply-chain practitioner and related procurement and supply chain activities spread across more than 30 countries. Linton has deep supply chain experience in the tech supply chain with previous executives roles at Freescale Semiconductor, Agere Systems and E2Open. A published author well-versed in supply chain EMS circles and beyond, Linton has written numerous articles and technical papers and recently co-authored a Harvard Business Review publication we think everyone in industry should read that is titled: “Don’t Let Your Supply Chain Control Your Business.” (See, also: #29, #35)

16. President of the United States, Barack Obama
President Obama’s ‘Blueprint for an America built to last’ was born from The President’s 2012 State of the Union Address. Currently before Congress, the full impact of this Blueprint for United States manufacturing, corporations and American neighborhoods remains to be seen. The United States is a significant contributor to the world’s total GDP with U.S. outsourcing and offshoring of manufacturing and jobs to many regions across the globe benefitting from such activities. Some highlights of the Blueprint (at the time of this top 100 list formation) include corporate tax reform with the overall aim to support U.S. manufacturing, discourage outsourcing and encourage insourcing:

1. Deny moving expense deductions to companies moving operations overseas and allow a new 20% credit for the expenses of moving operations back to the U.S.
2. Target Code Sec. 199 domestic production activity deduction on manufacturers who create jobs in the U.S. and doubling the deduction for advanced manufacturing technologies from 9% to 18%.
3. Create a new Manufacturing Communities Tax Credit ($2 billion per year in incentives for three years) for qualified investments that help finance projects in communities that have suffered a ‘major job loss event’—i.e., where a military base closes or a major employer closes or substantially reduces a facility or operating unit, resulting in permanent mass layoffs.
4. Extend the Code Sec. 48C(d) Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit for investments in clean energy manufacturing in the U.S.
5. Provide 100% expensing of investment in plants and equipment.
6. Close a loophole that allows companies to shift profits overseas from intangible property created in the U.S.
7. Some corporate tax related mandates might include requiring companies to pay a minimum tax for overseas profit, and requiring permanent an expanded Code Sec. 41 research and experimentation tax credit.

15. Tim Main
Main is president and CEO of Jabil, an EMS industry tier-1 provider, where Main has been employed for more than 20 years and he has been CEO for nearly half of his years with the Company. One of the last, large EMS providers to adopt a vertically integrated strategy, under Main’s leadership Jabil has grown to become a global EMS provider respected in the EMS industry by both EMS and OEM executives alike, and Wall Street, for Main’s and his team’s quick ability to root cause issues and bring them to resolution, in part, thanks to Jabil’s unique focus on employee training and the Company’s matrix-style management. (See, also: #21, #27, #48, #53)

14. Craig Muhlhauser
Muhlhauser is president and CEO with global EMS provider Celestica. A man with an often calming disposition and able to implement one of the best company-wide customer service programs we often hear about, Muhlhauser is responsible for reshaping Celestica’s sales force and emphasizing the word ‘service’ in customer service. It was also Muhlhauser who calmed Wall Street a few years ago by navigating the Company through troubles with its Mexico location. A visionary, Muhlhauser was also a big proponent to further build on Celestica’s early role as one of the first major players in the EMS industry to recognize the ‘sustainable’ opportunity and further develop internal expertise to service the clean / green technology market.

13. Kou-yi Yeh
Yeh is founder and chairman of global tier-1 contract original design manufacturer (ODM) Inventec. A long-time strategic thought leader in the electronics industry, with Yeh setting strategy in the boardroom, Inventec today is one of the world’s largest contract manufacturers of notebook computers. Leveraging his talent for anticipating marketplace needs early on, Yeh started Inventec thinking about and investing in solar-energy products before many industry contemporaries began doing so. And, Yeh is in process of leading the transformation of Inventec. This time around, Inventec will focus on clean tech products with a concerted effort to serve the fast-growing cloud-computing market.

12. Dean Foate
Foate is president and CEO at Plexus. Under Foate’s leadership, the Wisconsin-based EMS provider’s executive team has evolved into one of the best in industry. With facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, Foate built a diverse customer base leveraging O’ complex build capabilities. The Company serves high-mix / low-volume markets like networking; industrial electronics, defense / aerospace and medical with the latter offering remarkable product design capabilities.

11. The Honorable Anand Sharma
The Honorable Anand Sharma minister of commerce and industry for the government of India presides over two key departments: the department of commerce, and the department of industrial policy and promotion. India is the last great emerging market for EMS. Having not had the same success with EMS as India’s software and BPO industries have, today, India is committing a more serious effort to make the nation’s electronics manufacturing industry’s success a reality and we believe The Honorable Anand Sharma, in working with other Indian ministries, will be a driving force with this. To help develop greater domestic electronics capabilities in India, the government recently enacted policy granting preferential market access in government procurement to electronics products manufactured in India. By the end of 2012, India is also expected to finalize plans for opening a semiconductor fabrication facility. This is noteworthy because having semiconductor fabrication is a key part of any region’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem. (See, also: #21, #26, #45, #76, #84)

10. Yunting Dong
Dong is chairman of the China Electronics Enterprises Association (CEEA), the oldest and most influential organization of manufacturers of electronics products in China. Dong is intimately familiar with a high number of various Chinese electronics enterprise types and serves as the industry representative to local and overseas governments. Previously, Dong was director of the Center for Strategic Studies, China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute (a scientific research institution under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology). Dong has considerable knowledge pertaining to economics regarding China’s electronics industry based on key market research and forecasts. Dong also has deep experience with China’s tech industry when it comes to strategic planning and development. Of noteworthy importance, Dong advocates focusing on quality and efficiency over scale when it comes to the enterprise.

9. Tom Donohue
Donohue is president and CEO of the U.S. chamber of commerce. While Donohue can sometimes be a lightning rod for some business leaders and special interest groups in Washington, Donohue has a reputation for not sensationalizing issues – often backing up his positions with reasoning based on fact. Needless to say, not everyone agrees with Donohue’s views on American manufacturing, U.S. jobs and offshoring / EMS. “Outsourcing has made the manufacturing process more efficient and productive,” said Donohue in a 2007 interview with VentureOutsource.com. “Outsourcing has also made us work smarter and made workers able to take advantage of one of the United States’ greatest assets – the spirit of innovation.” We couldn’t agree more.

8. President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff
By now, most people in the EMS industry know that the world’s largest EMS provider, Foxconn, has expressed investment interest in Brazil, one of Latin America’s most prominent, and growing electronics markets. President Rousseff has said in the past the Foxconn investment could be upwards of $12 billion. While no one knows for sure what this may do to the landscape of Latin America’s, and the world’s, EMS landscape one thing for sure is any sizeable investment by Foxconn in money and infrastructure will impact how global electronics OEMs develop and execute their sourcing plans of action and distribution strategies. President Rousseff could soon find herself positioning the economic cornerstone in Brazilian business circles for her country eventually having one of the fastest growth rates among the BRIC nations and thus possibly elevating the socioeconomic status of untold Brazilian households for generations to come. (See, also: #1, #16, #19, #30, #49, #56, #85, #87)

7. Michael Dell
A household name for sure, Dell is chairman of the board of directors and CEO of the organization that bears his name. Dell founded Dell in 1984 at the age of 19 with $1,000. Dell (the man and his company) revolutionized the selling of personal computers, using a direct-business model whose fundamental tenets included taking custom orders directly from customers, thereby reducing inventory and streamlining distribution. In 2001 when most computer manufacturers held 30 + days of inventory Dell held five. An innovative leader keenly aware of the changing competitive business environment, those is in EMS are familiar with Dell’s very clean online order entry and direct fulfillment practices directly tied to its external EMS partner factories.

6. Barry Lam
Lam is the founder and chairman of Quanta Computer. His electronics career began when Lam and some former classmates founded Kinpo, an EMS provider manufacturing calculators at the time, which Lam later built it into the largest contract manufacturer of calculators while serving as president. Lam later envisioned notebook computers dominating the tech sector as the next big product so Lam and a colleague later formed Quanta. Today, the top 10 original design manufacturer designs and manufactures for numerous tech OEMs. Lam is also driving the hot cloud computing market directly to end-users.

5. John Chambers
Chambers is chairman of the board and CEO at Cisco Systems. Chambers joined Cisco as senior vice president of worldwide sales and operations in 1991 and assumed the role of CEO in 1985 and is credited with growing the Company from $1.2 billion in annual revenues to its current run-rate of more than $40 billion. Chambers is well known in EMS circles for being credited with embracing outsourcing with EMS providers early on in the product lifecycle and implementing very robust metrics and issuing EMS provider report cards that have helped Cisco achieve very effective management of the Company’s EMS partners. (See, also: #24)

4. Ray Chen
Chen is president, CEO and managing director at Compal, a tier-1 Taiwanese ODM. An electronics industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience with noted expertise in notebook, display, and mobile phone design and manufacturing operations, it is Chen’s operational acumen enhanced by Chen’s unique ability to select and assemble highly competent executive teams able to carry out a single vision that makes Chen a respected leader with Compal plus at a number of other companies where Chen serves concurrently as chairman and president. Chen is also the director of Taipei Computer Association.

3. Tim Cook
Before being named CEO of Apple in August 2011, Cook was Apple’s chief operating officer responsible for all of the Company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, as well as service and support in all markets and countries. If you live in a distant corner of the world and you have an iPhone, you can thank Cook. Cook’s ground breaking work in supply chain management led to Apples emergence as having one of the largest and most effective consumer technology product operations in the world Perhaps this is also why most EMS providers would like to have Apple on their customer list.

2. Rock Hsu
Hsu is chairman at leading Taiwanese tier-1 ODM, Compal. Hsu also concurrently serves as chairman of more than 30 other technology companies, including Cal-Comp Electronics (another tier-1 ODM) and Kinpo Electronics, an ODM/EMS provider. Among Hsu’s numerous other accomplishments, included are appointment as honorary director-general of Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association; deputy director-general Chinese National Federation of Industries, and national policy advisor under the Office of the President and advisor of the executive Yuan.

1. Terry Guo
Love him or hate him, if you know EMS, you have something to say about Terry Guo. Guo has had the most significant impact on EMS. Chairman and president of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (better known as Foxconn), the world’s largest and most vertically integrated EMS provider, Guo and his team have built an EMS powerhouse as famous for news headlines about its employees as it is for how well the Company can execute Guo’s mandates. There is not one tier-1 EMS industry executive out there who doesn’t have Foxconn in his rear-view mirror. Whether its manufacturing Apple’s iPhone, Amazon’s Kindle and Microsoft XBox game consoles or motherboards and other consumer electronics products, under Guo’s leadership, Foxconn has proven ocean liners can turn on a dime. For those that don’t know, Foxconn is the world’s largest maker of electronics components and printed circuit boards. The Company is also known for aggressively protecting every inch of its market share in segments where it does business. Given Foxconn’s size (the Company is also the largest private-sector employer in China) and the formidable influence Foxconn can wield in the marketplace when it comes to negotiating supply chain costs and customer pricing, it should come as no surprise to anyone Guo is number one on our list. (See, also: #8, #19, #30, #49, #56, #85, #87)