Huawei
Huawei is a $90 billion telecommunications giant that did something remarkable: it survived an existential attack from the world's most powerful country.
Huawei is a $90 billion telecommunications giant that did something remarkable: it survived an existential attack from the world's most powerful country. When the U.S. imposed sanctions in 2018-2019 - cutting off Android, Google services, and chip supplies - most analysts predicted Huawei's collapse. Instead, the company's unconventional structure proved resilient.
Huawei runs a rotating CEO system where three executives alternate leadership every six months, supported by a 17-member board. When external observers see 'confusion about who speaks for Huawei,' the three CEOs coordinate parallel responses: supply chain diversification (HarmonyOS development), legal defense, and customer retention. The distributed mesh topology has no single point of failure - and when sanctions hit, that mattered.
Huawei constructed an alternative ecosystem: HarmonyOS (replacing Android), Kirin chipsets, Huawei Mobile Services (replacing Google Play), and 5G infrastructure dominance (~30% global market share). The company rebuilt its technology stack independent of U.S. control. But the construction came at a cost - Huawei's 996 work culture (9 AM - 9 PM, 6 days/week) violates circadian principles, creating burnout despite survival. The lesson: resilience requires distributed architecture, but sustainable resilience requires sustainable metabolism.
Key Leaders at Huawei
Ren Zhengfei
Founder
Advisory role, minimal formal authority
Guo Ping
Rotating CEO
Operations focus
Xu Zhijun
Rotating CEO
Strategy focus
Eric Xu
Rotating CEO
Technology focus
Cautionary Notes on Huawei
- 996 culture leads to burnout and reduced innovation
- HMS has ~220,000 apps vs Google Play's ~3.5 million
- Manufacturing constraints from U.S. sanctions
- Market fragmentation limits global reach
Huawei Appears in 4 Chapters
Huawei's 996 work culture (9 AM - 9 PM, 6 days/week) illustrates how violating circadian rhythms leads to diminishing returns despite increased hours.
See work rhythm violations →Huawei demonstrates the climax innovation capabilities of the Shenzhen ecosystem, reaching $90B revenue as global telecom infrastructure leader.
See ecosystem innovation →Three executives rotate as acting CEO every six months - distributed mesh topology created resilience during U.S. sanctions by eliminating single point of failure.
See distributed leadership →Developed HarmonyOS, Kirin chipsets, and Huawei Mobile Services in response to U.S. sanctions, constructing alternative ecosystem independent of U.S. control.
See ecosystem construction →