William  Xu Director of Board, President of the Institute of Strategy Research, Huawei William Xu was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1963. He was admitted to the Department of Automatic Control of Nanjing Institute of Technology in 1980, and received a bachelor's degree from Nanjing Institute of Technology and a master's from Southeast University. He joined Huawei in 1991, and currently serves as Huawei's Director of the Board and President of the Institute of Strategic Research. Mr. Xu has served as Huawei's President of Research, President of R&D, President of the European Area, President of HiSilicon, Chief Sales & Service Officer, CEO of the Enterprise BG, and Chairman of the Investment Review Board. He has achieved many great things in product R&D, marketing, strategy development, and market presence planning, all of which have contributed to Huawei's leading position in the world. Mr. Xu is a strategy scientist with an international outlook and extensive experience of success in the industry. He displays outstanding strategic thinking during high-level design, has global influence, and is capable of guiding industry development. Mr. Xu has an extensive scientific and technical background and has led Huawei's product and technology R&D for many years, as well as being responsible for work related to chip design, general technology, and research. He led the development of Huawei's first generation of public program-controlled switches, and oversaw the design of the company's first chip and the establishment of the chip design center – the predecessor to HiSilicon. In addition, he has substantial market insights and deep knowledge of industry trends, supports the translation of research results into industry applications, creates new markets, and leads industry development. He has led Huawei into the Innovation 2.0 era, which is a shift from engineering and technical innovation (from 1 to N) to theoretical breakthroughs and technical inventions (from 0 to 1). As the President of the Institute of Strategy Research, Mr. Xu is responsible for Huawei's basic research and cutting-edge technology research, as well as collaboration with over 300 universities around the world. Mr. Xu directs future-oriented research into basic, cutting-edge, and disruptive technologies that will help overcome worldwide technological challenges in photonic computing, free-electron laser, naked-eye 3D, and healthcare. This research will guarantee Huawei's presence in these technology fields over the next 5–10 years, fill Huawei's gaps, and enhance Huawei's strengths, preventing the company from losing its way or missing out on future opportunities. Currently, Mr. Xu is committed to innovations related to next-generation optical computing, optical transmission, and new display technologies, such as optical switch matrix operations, few-mode multicore fiber transmission, and light field displays based on micro- and nano-grating. These innovations aim to achieve the creation of large-scale, high-speed optical computing chips, ultra-large-capacity optical transmission technology, and next-generation naked-eye 3D display technology. Mr. Xu's team is collaborating with global universities and research institutes on 18 projects. Their work covers theories, structure design, system encapsulation, and prototype implementation that will enhance Huawei's research and presence in strategic technologies over the next 5–10 years.