Charles Chao
Charles Chao, also known as Cao Guowei, is the chairman, president and CEO of Sina — China’s largest internet portal.
The former journalist and accountant joined Sina in 1999 as vice president of finance. He led the online giant to usher in micro blogging into China with Twitter-like website Sina Weibo that now boosts of 368 million registered accounts. That compares to 140 million active Twitter users worldwide. Weibo has become a
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more Charles Chao
Charles Chao, also known as Cao Guowei, is the chairman, president and CEO of Sina — China’s largest internet portal.
The former journalist and accountant joined Sina in 1999 as vice president of finance. He led the online giant to usher in micro blogging into China with Twitter-like website Sina Weibo that now boosts of 368 million registered accounts. That compares to 140 million active Twitter users worldwide. Weibo has become a powerful tool for sharing and accessing information in China’s heavily censored online environment and has been credited with lending a voice to the masses.
Weibo is expected to drive the company’s revenue in the second half of this year after Sina started monetizing the website in 2012 by offering special services to business accounts and selling VIP membership to regular users. Chao has announced plans to continue investing in Weibo as the company builds up its user base among China’s more than half a billion internet users. Chao was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.
Photo: Raul Vasquez | Bloomberg | Getty Images
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Thu 8 Nov, 2012 12:30 PM IST