The chairman of Kingsoft and Xiaomi Technology, Lei Jun, is Number 1 on the 2021 list of China's Best CEOs, which was released July 15 by Forbes. Also listed from Zhuhai are Dong Mingzhu of Gree Electric Appliances and Don Fan of Jafron Biomedical.

A 51-year-old tech tycoon, Lei joined security software developer Kingsoft in 1992 and served successively as the Beijing office R&D manager, Zhuhai office deputy general manager, and Beijing office general manager. In 2010, he founded Xiaomi Technology, which has grown into one of the major mobile phone makers and consumer electronics companies in the world.

Dong Fan [Photo courtesy jafron.com]

Dong Mingzhu, 67-year-old chairwoman and president of Qianshan-based Gree Electric Appliances, is one of the five female CEOs on the list. She placed 13th. Dong entered Gree in 1990 as a business manager, and had been head operations, deputy general manager, and deputy chairwoman since 1994. She chaired Gree Group from May 2012 to October 2016.

Dong Fan, chairman and president of Zhuhai Jafron Biomedical in the National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Tangjiawan), placed 49th. The 51-year-old has been with Jafron since 1999 and has chaired the R&D of multiple national key products and Torch Programs.

Forbes China's Best CEOs List considers a company's stock price performance, market value, net profit and growth, return on assets, and return on equity for listed businesses between 2018 and 2020. The fluctuation of stock prices is deducted from the influence of factors such as stock bonuses.

Selected CEOs have held their positions for three financial years, and outperformed peers in leading their enterprises to remarkable performance and high growth amid uncertainty of industrial trends and business environments.