Chester Koo | |
---|---|
辜啟允 | |
Born | 1952 |
Died | |
Nationality | Republic of China |
Education | Master of Business Administration |
Alma mater | Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Leslie Koo (brother) |
Chester Koo ( Chinese: 辜啟允; pinyin: Gū Qǐyǔn; Wade–Giles: Ku Ch'i-yün; 1952–2001) was a Taiwanese business executive.
Born in 1952, [1] Koo earned a master's degree in business administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. [2] [3]
After his graduation and subsequent return to Taiwan, Koo managed a branch of Chinatrust Bank, and at age 35 was appointed president of the China Life Insurance Company. [4]
Koo later led many other Koos Group (KGI) subsidiaries and was active in the media industry. [5] He was responsible for KGI's 1997 acquisition of Chinese Television Network (CTN). [6]
Koo eventually sold CTN in January 2000, having never turned a profit. [6] In an attempt to increase the market share of China Network Systems (CNS), a cable company owned by KGI, Koo restructured CNS and sought investors to form a media conglomerate, becoming partners with Rupert Murdoch in the process. [7] Though he was credited with helping Koos Group gain a foothold in new industries, [6] many of Koo's investments were also regarded as risky, and multiple ventures lost money. [8] He resigned his position at China Life in December 2001. [9]
As a result, Koo became less involved with Koos Group business ventures, except for Hoshin Gigamedia Center Inc. which he had founded in October 1998. [10] Under his leadership, GigaMedia reached an agreement with Microsoft and began working on a set-top box design suitable for broadband Internet via cable services. In November 1999, Microsoft bought a ten percent stake in GigaMedia. [11] The next year, GigaMedia began work with Yahoo Inc. on building a website which offered multimedia entertainment to GigaMedia customers. [12]
Shortly after leaving China Life, Koo died from gallbladder cancer on 24 December 2001, aged 49. [13] Later, Leslie Koo split Koos Group holdings with cousin Jeffrey Koo. Together, the two returned KGI to profitability. [14]
Chester Koo's father Koo Chen-fu and younger brother Leslie Koo were also businessmen. Chester Koo's only son was Koo Kung-yi. [15]
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