As the CEO of Thermos LLC®, Alex Huang (PhD ’01) travels the world to run a multinational corporation whose lunchboxes and vacuum-insulated containers are iconic enough to be in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Overseeing a business with factories in China, Malaysia, Japan, and the U.S., Dr. Huang spends 150 days a year on the “road,” one that he’s been down before: His first job was selling products for a pharmaceutical company, calling on doctors and hospitals throughout his native Taiwan. “I learned how to close deals and how to interact with people,” he says.
Huang began working at Thermos in 2001, first as the company controller, next as CFO, and then COO. In 2005 he became CEO, running worldwide operations from the company’s U.S. headquarters in Chicago.
Despite leading the world’s premier maker of insulated food and beverage containers, Huang notes, “Growing up in Taiwan, I didn’t have the luxury of using a Thermos lunchbox.”
Of his alma mater, Huang says, “Baruch has a good reputation in Taiwan.” He was additionally persuaded to study here by Stan Ross Professor of Accountancy Joseph Weintrop, who later became his dissertation adviser. According to Huang, what he learned in his doctoral program continues to influence his business style: “I follow logic tremendously; I don’t get emotional in decision making.” It’s hard to argue with a CEO who says, “Whatever makes people happy we want to supply.”
—Barbara Lippman
For a timeline display of Thermos lunchboxes, as well as fun video testimonials by various celebrities, go to www.thermos.com/lunchbox.