Eric Yuan

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Eric S. Yuan
Born1969 or 1970 (age 54–55)[1]
Tai'an, Shandong, China
CitizenshipUnited States[1]
Alma materShandong University of Science and Technology (BS)
China University of Mining and Technology (MS)
Stanford University
OccupationBusinessman
TitleFounder and CEO, Zoom Video Communications
SpouseMarried since 1991 or 1992[citation needed]
Children3
Eric Yuan
Chinese袁征

Eric S. Yuan (Chinese: 袁征; pinyin: Yuán Zhēng; born 1970) is a Chinese-American billionaire businessman, and the CEO and founder of Zoom Video Communications, of which he owns 22%.[2]

Early life

Yuan is the son of geology engineers.[3] He was born and raised in Tai'an, Shandong Province, China.[4][5] In 4th grade, Yuan collected construction scraps to recycle copper for cash.[4]

As a first-year university student in 1987, he was inspired to develop videotelephony software while he took 10-hour train rides to visit his girlfriend and was looking for an easier way to "visit" her.[6][5] He earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics with a minor in computer application from Shandong University of Science and Technology,[7] and a master's degree in geology engineering from China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing.[8][9] Yuan graduated from the Stanford University Executive Program in 2006.[4][10][11]

Career

After earning his master's degree, Yuan lived in Beijing,[12] and attended a training program in Japan for four months.[9] Inspired by Bill Gates, who spoke in Japan in 1994, he moved to Silicon Valley in 1997 to join the tech boom.[6] At the time, Yuan spoke very little English, and applied nine times before being granted a visa to the United States.[5][13]

Upon arriving in the US, Yuan joined WebEx, a web conferencing startup, where he was one of the first 20 hires.[4][3] The company was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007, at which time he became vice president of engineering.[5] In 2011, Yuan pitched a new smartphone-friendly video conferencing system to Cisco management.[14] When the idea was rejected, Yuan left Cisco to establish his own company, Zoom Video Communications.[5]

In 2019, Zoom became a public company via an initial public offering,[15] at which time Yuan became a billionaire.[4][1]

Personal life

Yuan married at age 22, while he was a master's student at China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing.[4] They have three children and live in Santa Clara, California.[1] Yuan became an American citizen in 2007.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Forbes profile: Eric Yuan & family". Forbes. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. ^ Pendleton, Devon (21 March 2020). "The rise of social distancing during coronavirus pandemic pushes Zoom founder's net worth up by $2 billion in 2020". www.fortune.com.
  3. ^ a b Sarlin, Jon (22 May 2020). "Everyone you know uses Zoom. That wasn't the plan". CNN. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Konrad, Alex (May 31, 2019). "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! The Exclusive Inside Story Of The New Billionaire Behind Tech's Hottest IPO". Forbes.
  5. ^ a b c d e Weiner, Yitzi (October 2, 2017). "The Inspiring Backstory of Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom". Medium.
  6. ^ a b Huddleston Jr., Tom (April 18, 2019). "A Bill Gates speech inspired Zoom founder to start an internet business—now he's a billionaire". CNBC.
  7. ^ Rogers, Bruce (24 April 2017). "Eric Yuan Builds Cloud Conferencing Company Zoom To Create Satisfied Customers". Forbes. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. ^ Waters, Richard (5 June 2020). "Eric Yuan, a tech boss riding a geopolitical storm". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b "2020 Great Immigrants Recipient: Eric Yuan". Carnegie.org. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  10. ^ Stone, Brett (2020-03-29). "A Biography of Eric Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom". Medium. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  11. ^ "Lunar New Year Social Mixer with Eric Yuan, CEO/Zoom". Stanford.edu. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  12. ^ High, Peter (6 March 2017). "Zoom CEO's Promise To His Wife Helped Inspire A $1B Company". Forbes. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. ^ Levy, Ari (April 19, 2020). "Zoom's CEO emigrated from China 22 years ago and spoke little English — now he's worth almost $3 billion". CNBC.
  14. ^ Rogers, Taylor Nicole (April 1, 2020). "Meet Eric Yuan, the founder and CEO of Zoom, who has made nearly $4 billion in 3 months as usage of his video conferencing software skyrockets amid the coronavirus pandemic". Business Insider.
  15. ^ Griffith, Erin (18 April 2019). "I.P.O. Day for Pinterest and Zoom Ends With Shares Sharply Higher". New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  16. ^ Yuan, Eric. "Navigating a New Chapter for Zoom". Zoom Blog. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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