Whom You Know: Lenovo Marks Decade of Success Since Acquisition of IBM’s PC Business #DecadeofInnovation World’s #1 PC maker, sees continuous innovation, as it expands into smartphones and servers

Friday, May 1, 2015

Lenovo Marks Decade of Success Since Acquisition of IBM’s PC Business #DecadeofInnovation World’s #1 PC maker, sees continuous innovation, as it expands into smartphones and servers

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today marked the 10-year anniversary of its acquisition of IBM’s PC business a major milestone in its evolution from China-only PC maker, to global PC challenger, to where it is today: one of the world’s most innovative technology companies. Over the past decade, Lenovo has achieved tremendous growth in its business to become the world’s #1 PC maker, and #3 in smartphones, #3 in tablets, and #3 in x86 servers.

Lenovo marks this milestone in advance of Lenovo Tech World on May 28 in Beijing, the company’s first strategic global technology conference, where it will outline its vision of future devices, including smartphones, wearables and smart connected devices and demonstrate R&D concept projects.

“The acquisition of IBM’s PC business transformed Lenovo overnight into a truly global company, changing not only Lenovo but our industry,” said Yang Yuanqing, Chairman and CEO, Lenovo. “Since then, we have overcome many challenges – and many doubters – to become the world’s leading PC company and one of the world’s most innovative personal technology companies. Even more, this acquisition built the foundation for our expansion to new products like smartphones, tablets, servers and now our ecosystem, growth engines fueled by the success of our first big deal.”

A Decade of Success

Prior to its acquisition of IBM’s PC business in 2005, Lenovo ranked #9 in the worldwide PC industry with 2.3 percent market share and annual revenue of just $3 billion. Fast forward to 2015 and Lenovo has risen to become #1 in worldwide PCs with market share at 20% and revenue growing roughly thirteen-fold over the past ten years to $39 billion.

Notably, the IBM PC acquisition and its growth gave Lenovo the fuel to accelerate its expansion which today encompasses three growth engines with global scale: PC, mobile and enterprise. No other company can match this diversity. Following the successful IBM PC acquisition, Lenovo has made eight successful acquisitions, priming the company for future advances in high-growth and high-revenue markets.

“In the ten years since Lenovo acquired IBM’s PC business, Lenovo has grown from a $3 billion company whose interests were mostly in China, to the $39 billion global technology leader that Lenovo is today,” said William O. Grabe, Lenovo board member and advisory director, General Atlantic, an original investor in Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC business. “Lenovo‘s decade of success was achieved through a continued focus on profitable growth, strong execution by the Lenovo leadership team led by Yang Yuanqing, and the hard work of the tens of thousands of Lenovo employees around-the-world. I look forward to Lenovo’s next decade of growth.”

Here’s a snapshot of some of the defining moments in Lenovo’s history over the past ten years:

100 million ThinkPad laptops sold (2015)

Completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility and IBM X86 businesses and launched multimode YOGA Tablet 2 Pro with built-in projector (2014)

Became #1 PC-maker worldwide; started selling smartphones outside of China; and introduced interpersonal computing with Horizon table PC (2013)

Launched YOGA multimode PC (2012)

Entered into JV with EMC and acquired Stoneware and CCE (2012)

Created JV with NEC and Compal and acquired Medion (2011)

Sponsored Beijing Olympics delivering 20,000 pieces of infrastructure and hardware; entered global consumer laptop and desktop markets; built ThinkPad X300, which BusinessWeek called “the best laptop ever” (2008)

Launched first Lenovo-branded PCs worldwide (2006)

Acquired IBM’s PC business, including ThinkPad (2005)

Since completing its acquisition of IBM’s PC business, Lenovo has invested heavily in research and development, leading to the expansion of the Think brand into new product categories such as workstations and servers as well as new commercial designs and innovations including tablets and convertibles. Also during this time period, Think-branded products have won more than 2,600 design and product awards.

Follow the conversation on Twitter @lenovo #DecadeofInnovation.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $39 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode YOGA brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Motorola brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at www.lenovo.com.

Recent Testimonials by Brand Ambassadors on their Experience with Whom You Know

"I work with Peachy Deegan because she's prolific at what she does. She's a hard worker, she's thoughtful and she's tasteful at what she writes which is very important. Peachy gets the facts correct, and just that alone is worth its weight in gold."

-Edward Tricomi, Master Stylist and Owner of Warren-Tricomi
https://warrentricomi.com/

"No one has yet to express their taste for our cuisine better than Peachy Deegan on Whom You Know. Thank you for transforming our flavor into words, unlike any other before.
Sometimes WHOM YOU KNOW, really makes a difference and Ammos Estiatorio is grateful to know Peachy Deegan!"
-
Dimitris Nakos, Founder and Owner of
Ammos Estiatorio
https://ammosnewyork.com/

“Whom You Know has done an amazing job of featuring our company over many years [seven]. Peachy has worked tirelessly to create a well-curated selection of topics and brands that are clearly of relevance to her growing audience of readers. Her articles are filled with great insights based on first-hand experience. She does her research, knows her business and is a pleasure to work with!”

-David Sasuga, Owner of Fresh Origins Microgreens
www.FreshOrigins.com

"Peachy Deegan has the pulse of the nation and highlights exceptional opinion leaders in more than 23,000 inspiring and entertaining posts. Her 100,000 twitter followers are a true testimony to Peachy’s ability to inspire, motivate and entertain. She is a feminine force to be reckoned with and an exemplary example of an influential voice in today’s world."

-Mica Mosbacher, author of the new book The Hurricane Factor: Stormside Patriots and tv political commentator

"It was an honour to be chosen for Movers and Shakers by Peachy Deegan. The questions in the interview were intelligent and insightful and I thoroughly enjoyed answering them. The reaction to the interview has been overwhelmingly positive and has helped bring my art practice to a wider audience."
-Damien Flood, Internationally Acclaimed Artist
http://www.damienflood.ie/

"We were so fortunate to hit Peachy’s radar. Her review of our Warmies was spot-on and came at a great time in our company’s early history.
Peachy has such a strong relationship with her readers. She provides honest and real comments; she is truly a trusted source in a very large circle
of consumers."
-Scott Wehrs
President
Intelex U.S.A.
http://www.intelexusallc.com/

"We at Primola love working with Whom You Know and are proud to have been a highly-ranked Manhattan restaurant by Peachy Deegan since 2012, and are featured seasonally. We appreciate the fantastic work Peachy does highlighting our cuisine with her sublime writing style and the whole neighborhood of the Upper East side. Also, we are glad that she has started a Made in Italy column! If you have the opportunity to be considered for review, we'd highly recommend working with her."
-Giuliano Zuliani, Owner of Primola Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/Primola-Canaletto-restaurants-NYC-135616799831091

"
Peachy Deegan is a gem. She is wonderful to feature our Irish brands in 'Whom You Know'! The articles are beautifully and passionately presented, bringing products and brands to life, making both relevant and fun for her many faithful followers to read. I am immensely proud for our hand-crafted products to be included in this venue!"

-
Bill Follett
President, Belleek Group North America
www.Belleek.com

"As you know from my past features, Peachy Deegan and I were in the same class at Boston College prior to either of us becoming entrepreneurs. When we played together on the BC Alumni softball team in Central Park years ago, she mentioned she could not find a great dentist in Manhattan and could often be found networking on her phone in the outfield hiding from the ball. She was my second patient ever in 2006 when I opened my dental practice; I was one of the first sponsors on Whom You Know and the first Mover and Shaker featured in 2009 and have worked with her continuously since. She's even talked her friends that are doctors into being my patients, and they subsequently send their hospital colleagues. I don't know anyone that is as great of a networker and writer as Peachy, nevermind that she is upstanding and always good for her word. Cosmopolitan Dental is so happy to be in the company of the caliber of major brands she works with today, and although she will tell you a million ways to get your teeth dirty between Peachy's Picks, Terrific Takeout and Peachy's Pantry, Peachy Deegan will tell you there is only one way to get your teeth clean!"
-Dr. Garo Nazarian, Founder and Owner of Cosmopolitan Dental
http://cosmopolitandental.com/