After completing his Vanderbilt MBA, it didn’t take long for Austin Na Qinglin to emerge as a global leader in the technology field. He worked in New York for Salomon Brothers, specializing in corporate finance for the Asia Pacific region, then moved to the company’s Hong Kong office between 1997 and 2000.

In that first year of the new millennium, Qinglin was a co-founder of Mandarin Venture Partners, Ltd., which in turn led him to co-found O-Net Technologies. He became CEO of the company in 2002 and subsequently was appointed Chairman.

Under Qinglin’s guidance over the past two decades, O-Net has grown to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of optical communication devices and modules used in high-speed telecommunications and data communications. The company also has emerged as a leader in industrial applications, machine vision coating film and new materials. Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, O-Net has offices in Hong Kong (where its stock is publicly traded), Beijing, Hangzhou, North America, and Europe. O-Net also has acquired subsidiary companies in North America and Europe. With the acquisitions of the French technology company 3SP and the Canadian firm ITF, in 2016 and 2017 respectively, O-Net advanced in the EDFA and transceiver fields and entered the industrial fiber laser business.

As the company grew, awards and recognition followed. In 2011, O-Net was named the leading enterprise in China’s telecommunications industry, and Qinglin received a top leadership award from the international Computer & Communications Industry Association. In 2012, O-Net was recognized as the most valuable brand in China’s telecom industry. In 2015, Qinglin was honored as one of the “Top Ten Outstanding Figures in the Communication Industry,” and the next year he received the “Asia-Pacific Enterprise Spirit Award.”