The gamble paid off as the now-65-year-old quickly proved her worth and rose up the ranks to eventually head the company, as chairwoman.

Despite being given the poorer Anhui region as her starting point, she turned the revenue from the territory into almost a tenth of the company’s total revenue in a mere 18 months. Her talent and hard work saw her promoted to sales director by 1994.

One of the biggest wins was reversing the control that sales agents had over suppliers by not supplying them on the standard deferred payment terms. “Want goods? Money comes first,” she said. Her playing hardball worked. There was not a cent in the company’s accounts receivable by 1997.

Known for her fierce work ethic, Dong is said to have not taken a day off since joining the company. In fact, she once sent her then 12-year-old son to the airport on his own by bus because she was busy at work.

She has guided Gree well to stay on top of the market as the middle class booms in China. Air conditioning was still a relatively rare luxury in the 90s. But now, the International Energy Agency estimates there are more air conditioners in China than any other country in the world – and Gree’s products make up a significant portion of it.

In 2018, Gree’s residential air conditioner sales remained the largest in China for a 24th consecutive year, while sales for central air conditioners were the largest for the seventh year running.

At the Boao Forum for Asia in March 2019, Dong revealed that the operating revenue of Gree had reached 200 billion yuan (US$28.7 billion) last year. That is almost double its 2015 numbers.

“Competitors have never concerned me. My interest is customers and market needs,” said Dong in a video interview in 2015. “We used to win market share by doing a better job than our competitors with existing products. I think this is a wrong approach. We shouldn’t care too much about what our competitors are doing. We need to focus on what consumers want, this is a mindset we need to work with.”

That is not to say that Dong has not gone after her competitors when she has felt the need to.

“You all saw our fight with Aux,” said Dong in a keynote speech at a business conference in Guangzhou last month. “Keeping silence on inferior products is disloyalty to the market, and Gree of course should come out to fight.”

This was regarding an instance when Gree accused rival Aux Group of selling air conditioners that did not meet energy-efficiency standards. The accusations on social media have since led to regulatory investigations. “I believe companies cannot grow without fighting,” she said.

And fought she has.

“Where Sister Dong walks, no grass grows” and “when she chews you up, she doesn’t even spit out the bones” were two judgments made by male competitors reported by The New York Times.

Her toughness extends to even her own shareholders. A leaked video from a meeting in 2016 saw her launch a tirade at shareholders for their lack of support of an acquisition programme, which included a US$1.9 billion full takeover of Zhuhai’s electric car manufacturer Yinlong New Energy and construction of related facilities.

“Gree has treated you fairly … 18 billion [yuan] dividends over two years – take a look and see what other company can give you that much,” Dong was heard saying in the video. “Sell the stocks all you want if you don’t trust Gree, but if you do, trust firmly.”

For those that kept their faith in the company and/or Dong, it has paid off.

Gree has kept strong growth in its main business. In 2018, the company's revenue from air conditioners still rose 26 per cent to hit 155.68 billion yuan – despite the slower 4.5 per cent growth of the air conditioning market.

The company has also registered stellar performance on the sales of smart equipment and home appliances, up 46 per cent and 65 per cent respectively, according to its annual report filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Net profit attributable to shareholders hit 26.2 billion yuan for 2018, up about 17 per cent year-on-year. And the company has promised another 3.61 billion yuan dividend in its semi-annual report. So its dividend payout will amount to 12.6 billion yuan in 2018, making it another record high.

The author of a biography appropriately titled Regretless Pursuit clearly still has lots of new highs to pursue.

As Asia’s most-moneyed make their mark on the global stage, in this Crazy Rich Asians series, we chart the rise of the region’s richest families, most inventive entrepreneurs – and how they spend their epic wealth.

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