Chester Koo

Chester Koo (Chinese: 辜啟允; pinyin: Gū Qǐyǔn; Wade–Giles: Ku Ch'i-yün; 1952–2001) was a Taiwanese business executive.

Chester Koo
辜啟允
Born1952
Taipei, Taiwan
Died(2001-12-24)24 December 2001
Taipei, Taiwan
NationalityRepublic of China
EducationMaster of Business Administration
Alma materWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Parent
RelativesLeslie Koo (brother)

Early life and education

Born in 1952,[1] Koo earned a master's degree in business administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1979.[2][3]

Life and career

After his graduation and subsequent return to Taiwan, Koo managed a branch of Chinatrust Bank, and at age 35 was appointed president of the China Life Insurance Company.[4]

Koo later led many other Koos Group (KGI) subsidiaries and was active in the media industry.[5] He was responsible for KGI's 1997 acquisition of Chinese Television Network (CTN).[6]

Koo eventually sold CTN in January 2000, having never turned a profit.[6] In an attempt to increase the market share of China Network Systems (CNS), a cable company owned by KGI, Koo restructured CNS and sought investors to form a media conglomerate, becoming partners with Rupert Murdoch in the process.[7] Though he was credited with helping Koos Group gain a foothold in new industries,[6] many of Koo's investments were also regarded as risky, and multiple ventures lost money.[8] He resigned his position at China Life in December 2001.[9]

As a result, Koo became less involved with Koos Group business ventures, except for Hoshin Gigamedia Center Inc. which he had founded in October 1998.[10] Under his leadership, GigaMedia reached an agreement with Microsoft and began working on a set-top box design suitable for broadband Internet via cable services. In November 1999, Microsoft bought a ten percent stake in GigaMedia.[11] The next year, GigaMedia began work with Yahoo Inc. on building a website which offered multimedia entertainment to GigaMedia customers.[12]

Shortly after leaving China Life, Koo died from gallbladder cancer on 24 December 2001, aged 49.[13] Later, Leslie Koo split Koos Group holdings with cousin Jeffrey Koo. Together, the two returned KGI to profitability.[14]

Personal life

Chester Koo's father Koo Chen-fu and younger brother Leslie Koo were also businessmen. Chester Koo's only son was Koo Kung-yi.[15]

References
  1. Chen, Ming-Jer (2003). Inside Chinese Business: A Guide for Managers Worldwide. Harvard Business Press. p. 40. ISBN 9781591393276.
  2. "Koo Family Gives $10 Million for New Educational Facility". Wharton Magazine. 1998. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  3. Sherwin, Edward (13 April 1998). "Family gives $10m. to fund Wharton bldg". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  4. Curtin, Michael (2007). Playing to the World's Biggest Audience: The Globalization of Chinese Film and TV. University of California Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780520940734.
  5. "Wharton's Alumni Leadership in Asia". Wharton Magazine. 1998. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  6. Wong, Jesse; Dean, Jason (23 August 2001). "Chester Koo Blends Vision With an Impulsive Style". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  7. Chen, Yi-Shan; Lin, Judy (24 January 2014). "Where Taiwan's Billionaires Stash Their Cash". CommonWealth Magazine. No. Asia Today. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017. Alt URL
  8. Dean, Jason (7 December 2001). "China Life's President, Chairman Resign In Restructuring of Taiwan's Koos Group". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  9. Huang, Joyce (7 December 2001). "Pundits praise China Life reshuffle". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  10. "Taiwan going all out for online expansion". Taiwan Today. 1 October 1999. Retrieved 25 January 2017. Alt URL
  11. "Microsoft Takes 10% Stake In Broadband Firm GigaMedia". Wall Street Journal. 12 November 1999. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. Nystedt, Dan (6 September 2000). "GigaMedia, Yahoo ink deal". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  13. "Chester Koo, a founder of GigaMedia, dies of cancer". Taipei Times. 25 December 2001. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  14. "Preserving the Family Escutcheon". CommonWealth Magazine. 16 December 2010. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2017 – via China Post.
  15. Everington, Keoni (2 February 2017). "Cement empire line of succession starting to set in". Taiwan News. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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