He demonstrated his confidence in foreign investment in China at the CIIE, where Lang Zhiwen has been associated with Shanghai for eight years. Johnson | Lang Zhiwen | Shanghai
Not long ago, at a themed event called "Spring Blossom Season Love Charity Tour" held in Beixinjing Street, Changning District, Lang Zhiwen, President of Johnson Controls Investment Co., Ltd. in the Asia Pacific region, donated a book corner to Aixinyuan Nursing Home as a representative of the company. He also presented 300 books that interested the elderly, as well as equipment such as computers and printers. On site, the "Johnson Controls and Beixinjing Street Public Welfare Activity Cooperation Agreement" was officially signed, becoming another vivid case of social enterprise cooperation in Shanghai to support elderly care and public welfare.
This is not the first time that Lang Zhiwen has led his company partners into the community to participate in public welfare activities. Having worked in Shanghai for many years, he has led the company team to continuously promote business growth and achieved excellent results. He has also gained a deeper understanding and love for Shanghai in both work and life, contributing his own strength to this city.
Participating in the CIIE and demonstrating foreign investment's confidence in the Chinese market
In May 1970, Lang Zhiwen was born in Sri Lanka. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, a Master's degree in International Management, a Master's degree in Mechanical Electronics, an MBA, and a PhD in Leadership, he gradually grew into an excellent business leader.
The connection between Lang Zhiwen and Shanghai began in 2016 when he came to Shanghai to serve as the President and General Manager of Anbofu Asia Pacific Electrical Systems. Under his leadership, Anbofu Asia Pacific region successfully completed restructuring and transformation, quickly becoming the most important automotive key component production enterprise in China, and forming an industrial network centered in Shanghai, radiating to major automotive production bases, and covering more than 20 major cities across the country. Through technological innovation, Lang Zhiwen led Anbofu to actively participate and effectively promote the upgrading and iteration of the automotive parts industry in the Yangtze River Delta.
Last May, Lang Zhiwen officially joined Johnson Controls as the President of the Asia Pacific region. Under his leadership, the backbone team of the company is brave enough to work hard and continuously promote the company's high-performance culture to expand its influence in China and the entire Asia Pacific region. This also allowed the company's Asia Pacific sales in the 2022 fiscal year to break through the wind and achieve gratifying results. Especially the outstanding performance of the China region in the third and fourth quarters of last year set a new record in the quarterly sales history of Johnson Controls China.
Johnson Controls has been participating in this important event for five consecutive years since the first China International Import Expo in 2018. At the 5th China International Import Expo held in November last year, Lang Zhiwen, as the business leader and brand spokesperson of Johnson Controls, actively introduced the latest smart building products and high-tech of the company in the exhibition hall, and promoted the Expo through global media, sharing the spillover effects brought by the Expo to the enterprise. Through the window of the CIIE, he demonstrated the confidence of foreign investment in Shanghai and the Chinese market from the perspective of a foreign entrepreneur, as well as the commitment and determination of enterprises to better serve Chinese customers.
Lang Zhiwen pays special attention to corporate culture and talent cultivation. Last October, he launched the first outstanding leadership development project in the history of Johnson Controls Asia Pacific region. During a 4-day practice, he provided personal and organizational development, leadership and cross departmental coordination, leadership evolution and practice in complex systems, and practical simulation training for 100 core managers based in Shanghai and China. He trained a group of high-quality and high-performance leadership teams for the company and promoted Johnson Controls's development in China and the Asia Pacific region.
Assist in the "dual carbon" strategy and gather talents and technology for Shanghai
Last December, in the 2022 "ESG Pioneer 60" selection initiated by Shanghai Newspaper Group, Lang Zhiwen was awarded the "ESG Exploration Person of the Year" award, and Johnson Controls was also awarded the "Enterprise ESG Practice Award of the Year". Winning two awards demonstrates Johnson Controls' positive performance in supporting China's "carbon neutrality" goals, and also sets a reference case for the development of ESG in Shanghai.
After joining Johnson Controls, Lang Zhiwen actively invested in the field of smart buildings. Driven by China's "dual carbon" development strategy, he supported and encouraged the team to invest in product research and development in green energy conservation, attracting cutting-edge technologies and talents to Shanghai.
On the eve of last year's Shanghai Mayor and International Entrepreneur Consultation Conference, Lang Zhiwen actively responded and led the team to discuss the topic, leveraging Johnson Controls' industry insights in the field of smart buildings. He also actively promoted and invited George Oliver, Global Chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls, to attend the conference and provide suggestions for Shanghai's green development.
At present, Johnson Controls has over 100000 employees in over 150 countries worldwide, and the company's global revenue for the fiscal year 2022 reached 25.3 billion US dollars. With over 140 years of innovative experience, Johnson Controls has utilized a comprehensive digital solution, OpenBlue, and a complete product and solution portfolio in the field of building technology to achieve sustainable development blueprints for many fields such as healthcare, education, data centers, airports, sports venues, and manufacturing. It has also committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Enthusiastic in public welfare, caring for employees like parents
In Lang Zhiwen's view, the success of a company cannot be separated from responsible leadership and teams, and the civilization of a society cannot be separated from responsible enterprises and individuals. For this reason, in addition to personally participating in social welfare activities, he also encourages and mobilizes employees to join the ranks of social welfare, helping to promote the development of corporate social responsibility.
Besides work, he has volunteered as an English teacher and also established a homeless animal rescue and adoption station. He pays great attention to children's safety education and has organized the "Anbofu Future Small Automotive Academy" to enter kindergartens and primary schools, enhancing children's understanding of automotive knowledge and expanding their understanding of intelligent driving.
In April 2021, Lang Zhiwen officially became a visiting professor at the School of Business at East China University of Science and Technology, sharing his experience in enterprise management and personal career development, guiding every student to quickly find the right track and continuously strive towards their goals.
Lang Zhiwen has always held a deep admiration for the long-standing and profound Chinese culture. In his leisure time, he loves reading ancient Chinese books, and Zhuangzi's "my life has its limits, but knowledge has no limits" has influenced him to continuously improve himself and learn. He also deeply understood the essence of "knowing oneself and the enemy, invincible in a hundred battles" in Sun Tzu's Art of War, and integrated these concepts into enterprise management to create greater value for the enterprise.
Since September last year, Johnson Controls' Asia Pacific headquarters building located in the Hongqiao Airport Park has officially welcomed an upgraded free employee restaurant, which is also a major breakthrough among many Fortune 500 companies in Changning District and even Shanghai. This is closely related to the concept of "strictness and love" advocated by Lang Zhiwen. He cares very much for his employees, and in his view, employees are the cornerstone of business operations. "While protecting employees' lives, health, and safety, we should also provide them with the maximum benefits possible, and love and protect our families like parents."
