Louis Hsieh
Louis Tung Jung Hsieh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 China |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, legal professional |
| Known for | Global CFO and board director of Hesai Group; former president and CFO of New Oriental Education & Technology Group |
Louis Tung Jung Hsieh (, born in 1965) is a Chinese entrepreneur and legal professional currently holding the positions of global chief financial officer (CFO) and board director at Hesai Group (Nasdaq: HSAI), a company specializing in three-dimensional LiDAR technology. He joined Hesai as CFO in April 2021 and was appointed as a director two months later. Hsieh was instrumental in overseeing Hesai's February 2023 Nasdaq initial public offering, which experienced demand approximately 20 times greater than the shares available.
In addition to his role at Hesai, Hsieh serves on the boards of several prominent companies: he is a director at New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU, HKSE: 09901), a leading private education entity in China; acts as an independent director and chairs the audit committee at JD.com (NASDAQ: JD, HKSE: 09618); and holds an independent directorship at YUM China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC, HKSE: 09987), a major operator in the Chinese restaurant sector.
Early life
Hsieh obtained his undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School, and earned his Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of California, Berkeley. He is licensed to practice law by the State Bar of California.
Between 1990 and 1995, Hsieh practiced as a corporate securities lawyer at White & Case LLP. Subsequently, he held positions at Credit Suisse in Palo Alto and served four years as vice president at J.P. Morgan & Co. His career progressed with roles including managing director at UBS Capital Asia Pacific from 2000 to 2002, managing director at Darby Asia Investors from 2002 to 2003, and CFO of Ario Data Networks between 2003 and 2005.
New Oriental
In 2005, Hsieh assumed the CFO role at New Oriental, China's largest private educational services company. He contributed significantly to New Oriental's successful 2006 initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, which was oversubscribed by a factor of 35.
Hsieh joined New Oriental's board in 2007 and was promoted to president in 2009. During his presidency, the number of New Oriental schools doubled within two years. By 2011, he announced a strategic pivot from rapid expansion toward enhancing existing facilities and classrooms. At the same time, New Oriental notably grew its POP Kids program, providing language education for children aged three to fourteen.
A major challenge arose in 2012 when Muddy Waters Research accused New Oriental of manipulating accounting practices to exaggerate profits, prompting an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and causing the stock price to fall by 57%. Hsieh defended the company’s accounting methods, asserting that Muddy Waters had misunderstood subsidiary financial data. Contrary to predictions, New Oriental did not revise its earnings reports, and its stock price subsequently recovered to more than four times the low point. The SEC concluded its inquiry in 2014 without taking enforcement measures.
In April 2015, Stephen Zhihui Yang took over as CFO while Hsieh remained president. He resigned as president in January 2016 and was succeeded by Chenggang Zhou but continues to serve as a non-executive director and senior advisor.
Other positions
From 2017 until October 2019, Hsieh acted as chief financial officer at NIO (NYSE: NIO), a prominent Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer that completed its IPO in September 2018. Prior to this tenure, between August 2016 and September 2017, he served as an independent director and audit committee chairman at Nord Anglia Education Inc. (previously NASDAQ: NORD before its privatization in 2017). Earlier roles include independent director and audit committee chairmanship at Perfect World (formerly NASDAQ: PWRD until privatized in 2015) from 2007 to 2009. He has also been a board member and chaired the audit committee at LDK Solar.