Charles Zhang
Charles Zhang or Zhang Chaoyang is a Chinese businessman and founder of Sohu Inc, which was listed on NASDAQ in 2000. Zhang was ranked 37th on Forbes China’s 100 Richest list in 2000 and 20th in 2003.
Early life and education
Zhang was born in Xi'an, China. His parents were residential physicians at a small arsenal near Xi'an. His ancestors were from Henan. Zhang had been interested in science from a very young age. He studied at the Xi'an Qinghua middle school and transferred to the Xi'an Middle School of Shaanxi Province.Zhang was admitted to study physics at Tsinghua University in Beijing and graduated in 1986. He then received a full CUSPEA scholarship to attend graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. In 1993, Zhang graduated from MIT with a PhD in experimental physics. He then went on to serve as MIT's liaison officer for China.
While in the United States, Zhang developed an interest in pop culture and was an avid reader of Vanity Fair magazine. For a period, he aspired to a career in Hollywood and auditioned for roles after graduating from MIT.
Career
After 7 years at MIT, Zhang joined Internet Securities Inc. in November 1995 before returning to Beijing to establish the ISI China operation. While at ISI, Zhang envisioned an Internet search engine company. In 1996 with the support of MIT Media Lab director Nicholas Negroponte and MIT [Sloan School of Management] professor Edward B. Roberts, as well as venture capital, Zhang founded Internet Technologies China, the first VC-funded Internet company in China.In May 1997, after meeting Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, Zhang decided to transform ITC and rename the company Sohu. He subsequently oversaw four mergers with other Chinese internet companies to raise capital. On July 12, 2000, Sohu was listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. During the dot-com crash in the early 2000s, Sohu’s share price fell below US$1. Amid the downturn, several board members and investors sought to replace Zhang; however, he remained in his position. Zhang later attributed his ability to retain leadership in part to his non-confrontational management style.
In 2002, Sohu became the first profitable internet company in China. After Sohu established itself as one of the country’s leading internet firms, Zhang gradually withdrew from Sohu’s day-to-day management in the latter half of the 2000s and became a fixture in social and entertainment circles. In 2011, Zhang moved to the United States for treatment for depression and returned to China two years later in 2013.
During the 2010s, Sohu increasingly lagged behind its competitors. From 2018 to 2020, Sohu reported losses for three consecutive years. In 2021, the company returned to profitability, reporting a net profit of US$934 million.