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OCTOBER
27, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 42 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK
Asia's
Digital Elite
Kutaragi Ken |
| President
and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Age: 50 Tidbit:
At age 10 he made an electric guitar amplifier for a
friend |
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Will
Kutaragi Ken save Sony again? Back in 1994, the brash and independent engineer
created the PlayStation. Entering the brutally competitive video games business
was opposed by most Sony execs, but Kutaragi persevered at a time the company's
focus seemed to be flagging. The PlayStation game console has since sold
some 75 million units and is Sony's biggest profit generator. That success
earned Kutaragi the corner office at Sony Computer Entertainment and a chance
to lead the company into the Internet era. Kutaragi hopes the PlayStation
2 will become the Net-access-device of choice for consumers worldwide. And
he's looking even further ahead — to the PlayStation 3.
Son
Masayoshi
|
| President
and CEO, Softbank Age: 43 Personal hero: Sakamoto
Ryoma (19th-century samurai-reformer) |
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Even legends
have their rough patches. Son Masayoshi, Japan's best-known Internet entrepreneur,
has watched his fortunes shift dramatically this year as global tech markets
have taken a dive. Son's basic game plan — bringing successful U.S.
Web firms into Asia and listing them quickly — has been derailed for
now. But that apparently hasn't deterred Son, who, as an ethnic Korean in
a country that disdains minorities, is used to fighting his way to his objectives.
Ever since founding Softbank 19 years ago, Son has transformed it from a
local software distributor and publisher to a globe-straddling investor
with stakes in some 450 companies, including Internet giants Yahoo! and
E*Trade. For insight into Son's fighting attitude, look to his hero Sakamoto
Ryoma, a samurai who was instrumental in overthrowing Japan's feudal shogunate
in 1867 and opening the country to the outside world.
James
Murdoch
|
| Chairman
and CEO, STAR TV Age: 27 Hobbies: Reading, playing
with the dog E-mail: webmaster@startv.com |
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For years,
people talked about STAR TV as a directionless money-burner — until
twenty-something James Murdoch arrived as its full-time chief in May. Murdoch
launched the hit Crorepati, the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire;
he acquired India's second-largest cable TV operator; he formed a partnership
with Taiwan's GigaMedia to upgrade the latter's network and develop original
content. Newlywed James brought vision to the satellite TV network, which
reaches some 300 million people in 53 countries across Asia. Despite his
youth, he is not without portfolio. He has experience in startups and previously
headed global Internet and digital media ventures for News Corp., STAR's
parent. Being the son of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch doesn't hurt,
either (see story page 40).
Chan-drababu
Naidu
|
| Chief
Minister, Andhra Pradesh Age: 50 Quote: ³I am making
Andhra Pradesh a pilot project for the rest of the country.² |
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Building
a Net-age company is one thing. Building a Net-age state is quite another,
but Chandrababu Naidu is showing how it's done. A man rarely separated from
his laptop computer, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in India is turning
the state capital Hyderabad into a cybercity to rival Bangalore. He is wiring
the government from top to bottom, allowing monitoring of all departments
and programs. Besides improving his oversight of the bureaucracy, Naidu
hopes to improve public oversight as well by putting information on open
networks accessible through public kiosks. Now national politicians want
Naidu to spread his savvy to the rest of the country. He was recently designated
co-chairperson of the national I.T. task force.
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ASIAWEEK.com
Vol. 2 No. 7
COVER: Digital Elite: Twenty-five
Asians who are driving the region's big I.T. bus
Infested: Call the exterminator
— Singapore's home of the future is crawling with software bugs
Pulse: Palm robots, Aibo has
puppies and why Jenny can't surf
Face Off: Sizing up the Nomad
jukebox and Nomad II, Creative Technology's extreme music machines
E-vesting: Teaching your
sixth-grader to be a day-trader
Net Gains: Korea's NCsoft
is winning big in the gaming market
Tech Index: Bears ravage
Asian technology and internet stocks
B2B: Is Japan the sleeping giant of electronic
trading, or is the country just sleeping?
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