Dong Mingzhu
The manufacturing iron lady who built Gree into the world's largest air conditioner company through ironclad channel control and craftsmanship
Dong Mingzhu was born in 1954 in Nanjing, Jiangsu. After her husband passed away when she was 36, she raised her son alone and joined the predecessor of Gree Electric — Zhuhai Haili Air Conditioning Factory — as a salesperson in 1990. Through exceptional sales ability and strict commitment to quality, she was promoted from grassroots salesperson to general manager in less than ten years, and has served as Chairman since 2012. With the core conviction that quality must never be compromised for profit, she established Gree's unique full-channel control system (refusing to sell on Taobao, insisting on dedicated stores), raised R&D investment ratios to the highest in the industry, and made Gree air conditioners the world's top-selling brand for multiple consecutive years. Her strong management style and willingness to directly confront internet giants like Alibaba have made her an iconic figure in China's manufacturing industry.
Methodologies
- Channel Sovereignty Building Method - Before entering a new channel, first ask: do we have sufficient control? If the other party has pricing power, it is better not to enter; if we have pricing power, it is worth the investment.
- Quality Non-Compromise Decision Principle - In every product decision, first ask whether this affects product quality; if it does, don't do it regardless of the cost; only if it doesn't affect quality, then discuss the cost-optimal solution.
Key decisions and timeline
- 1954 Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu - The shaping of management thinking through basic education matters more than the specific major
- 1990 Joined Gree as Salesperson After Husband's Death at 36 - Adversity often unleashes a person's greatest potential
- 1992 Recovered 420,000 Yuan in Bad Debts in 40 Days, Establishing Management Reputation - Perseverance at critical moments builds trust more than capability alone
Beliefs and mental models
- Belief 1 - Dong Mingzhu believes the foundation of a company is product quality. Once quality standards are lowered for short-term profit, the most fundamental consumer trust is lost. This belief has been fully demonstrated in key moments such as Gree's air conditioner recall events and refusals to engage in low-price competition.
- Belief 2 - Dong Mingzhu insists that Gree must control its own sales channels and refuses to entrust its fate to third-party platforms. This philosophy led her to refuse selling on Alibaba's platforms and insist on developing Gree's own dedicated store system — even at the cost of significant short-term online traffic — to protect brand pricing power and quality discourse.
- Belief 3 - Dong Mingzhu believes that manufacturing companies relying on purchased core technology (like compressors) have no firm foundation — they must develop independently and build patent moats. Under her leadership, Gree raised its R&D investment ratio to above 5%, accumulated over 100,000 patent applications, and established one of the strongest technology moats in the global air conditioner industry.
- Model 1
- Model 2
- Model 3