UQM Technologies has announced that Yi-Zhen “Fred” Lin has joined UQM as vice president and general manager of UQM Asia Limited Inc. He will be based in Hong Kong.
Lin brings a proven track record of performance as a senior executive with several high-tech companies in the Asia Pacific region and a wealth of contacts and relationships in the Chinese electric automotive and commercial vehicle market.
Reporting directly to Joe Mitchell, president and CEO of UQM, Lin will have full P&L responsibility for all Asia operations, including manufacturing, engineering, business development, finance and other support organizations. He will work in conjunction with the UQM headquarters team in Colorado to ensure alignment and execution on UQM’s Asia strategy.
“We are very pleased to have Fred join the UQM team. His extensive experience in Asia business development, in-depth understanding of emerging markets, proven track record of success in growing businesses in China with Western products and overall managerial experience will greatly enhance our ability to succeed in this market,” said Mitchell. “The addition of Fred to this VP level position is a critical addition to our executive team and gives UQM both the presence and leadership that will be needed in Asia to move forward on our strategy. Fred is a seasoned executive and an international leader with the vision, energy, commitment and strategic mindset to lead UQM in Asia. After a lengthy and thorough search, we are very excited and honored to bring Fred onto our team and I truly believe he brings all of the leadership traits we were looking for.”
Between 1996 and 2009, Lin worked for SKF China Limited, a leading global bearing, seal and lubrications systems company, where he started as a regional manager and moved all the way up to managing director running the entire China region and growing annual revenue from 216 million RMB ($31 million USD) in 1996 to more than 6 billion RMB ($872 million) with more than 3,800 employees in 2009. Most recently, Lin was the general manager of business development for Vanway Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Vanway, Lin was executive vice president of business development for Guangzhou TWS Electronics Limited, a leading global rechargeable battery pack supplier. Earlier in his career, Lin worked as a project leader for a Taiwanese technology company where he was directly engaged with UQM on electric vehicle motor applications.
Lin holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the National Taipei Institute of Technology, an Master of Business Administration from Bradford University’s School of Management and a Ph.D. in management from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Lin is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese and English.
