Asustek founder resigns, criticizes management

Wayne Hsieh, one of Asustek Computer’s founders and the largest shareholder, resigned from the board and left his post as vice president of the manufacturing division last Friday and wrote an emotional email to former colleagues yesterday explaining his reasons to leave.

In the email, Hsieh criticized Asustek’s management style, saying the company’s leader does not use people based on their abilities but on their relationships to the leader. He said that Asustek’s lack of standardized management processes has caused bureaucracy and corruption and that he could no longer work there.

Prior to his resignation, Hsieh worked at Asustek’s Suzhou plant, located in Jiangsu Province, China. Sources said Hsieh was caught off guard when he was notified that he was being replaced by Louis Hsiao, a classmate of Asustek’s president Jonney Shih.

Asustek was founded in 1989 by Wayne Hsieh, Ted Hsu (now the chairman of ASRock), M.T. Liao and T.H. Tung.