Interviewee: PENG Tao MBA Alumnus of the Year 2008
Vice President of Insigma Group, Executive Director & General Manager of Insigma Great Wall Technological Service Co., Ltd
Date of Interview: April 1, 2014
PENG Tao, Vice President of the Insigma Group, is currently assisting the President to be in charge of the Group’s Science & Technology Park. He started to work in the real estate industry in 2002 and in 2006 he used to take in the specific work of Hangzhou’s application as China’s service outsourcing base city. For more than one decade he has been operating the projects of 5 industrial parks (Singapore Hangzhou Science & Technology Park, Transfer Science & Technology Parks, Insigma Huai’an Science & Technology Park, HIPARK and Hangzhou Software New City) providing consulting services for more than 10 projects. The major customers served involved the governments, benchmark technological enterprises, civil capital investors and so on.
Before interviewing with PENG Tao, we were taken around the Park by Mr. Gao, Chief Supervisor of Operation of HIPARK, who provided us a detailed introduction.
HIPARK is a science & technology park project jointly developed by the Insigma Group, the state and Xiaoshan Development Zone. Its industrial positioning is pretty accurate mainly targeting the internet industries particularly the mobile internet industry. Meanwhile, based on combination of “2-I”, the HIPARK provides more technical support and services for the industrial enterprises based in Xiaoshan. The “2-I” is abbreviation of industrialization and informatiztion.
On his way to us, Mr. PENG came up with a traffic accident and after 7 stitches treated at hospital, he still insisted on coming to the Park to see us. We were deeply moved by his spirit. He described to us the accident humorously, “On this day (April 1, the Fools’ Day) the accident happened to me. Indeed it was reminder for all us to treasure the happiness we enjoy!”
Recalling his schooling years from some interesting matters to his motivation to startup businesses, Mr. PENG said that he should appreciate the power from the MBA School inspiring him to start up the business. Mr. PENG recalled that once in 20009 during the first business start-up competition held by the MBA School, he completed a business start-up initiative in a team with some classmates and it was the business start-up initiative which motivated him, then senior manager of a famous enterprise, to start up business after quitting his job.
As Mr. PENG introduced: “HIPARK established three golden name cards: NO.1 the mobile internet industry, NO.2 the smart fitness industry, NO.3 the production material online trading platform combined with the local traditional industries, all three of which are supported by benchmark enterprises. Therefore, through collaboration between enterprises and the government, HIPARK will become a real landmark “2-I”platform.
As Mr. PENG quoted, as operator of the Industrial Park, the Instigma will also assist these enterprises and provide more free-of-charge services including assisting it to explore the market, to integrate the resources and so on. At the initial stage, we also lowered the business costs based on internet thoughts and helped them to explore market so that the whole project would be moved forward.
Before the end of the half-day interview, looking at the luggage lying in his office, Mr. PENG smiled tacitly, “This afternoon soon after a short while, I will fly to Hainan to observe a program” In the complicated world, individuals can’t do all that they want. ”
Postscript: On April 6, after his stitches on the wound removed, Mr. PENG noted in his wechat moments: Godness, I got recovered. Nearly my lifespan came to the end which reminded of the end of my career in 2009. All goes on naturally. What we can do is to accept it and then move on with great efforts. The end would make you think and have nothing left on you. It is more worthwhile that every single day after “the end” will be fresh as grant of the God.
Appendix: Profile of the HIPARK
HIPARK was invested and built up by the Xiaoshan Economic & Technological Development Zone and it is the first industry-gathering platform of the “Hangzhou Software New City” which aimed to establish a world-class complex green low-carbon environment-friendly community integrating the headquarters of scientific & technological enterprises, technological project transfers, incubation, research & development, finance and business. It has become the gathering center of software & information service enterprises in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and even the East China and so far it has provided a smart engine for deep combination of industrialization and informatization as well as transformation & updates of industries.
HIPARK covers an overall area of about 5.26 hectares including the construction area of the first phase 110,000㎡ and the second phase 170,000㎡ composed of four functional sectors including the comprehensive service sector, industrial R & D Sector, Business Functional Sector and Living Supplementary Sector. As planned it will take effort of 5-8 years to build up the biggest park fully containing software and information service industries in Hangzhou with a construction area of 1,000,000m2. With the philosophy of innovation and under guidance of “oriented by the government and professionally operated by enterprises”, the Development Zone has set up the state-owned company Zhejiang HIPARK High-tech Construction Development Co., Ltd to do construction management and appointed Instigma to operate professionally. It has so far become the only high-tech park guided by the government and professionally operated by enterprises in the Hangzhou Region.