Vizio CEO's Big Picture

"When we started, no one bought TVs at WalMart," Vizio founder and CEO William Wang recalled, in a Q&A session with Lundquist College students and faculty this October. Radically reshaping the shopping landscape is just one of the ways that Wang's ten-year-old company has changed the world of consumer electronics. During a discussion moderated by Dean Kees de Kluyver, Wang described the "perfect storm" that helped drive his company's success and covered some of the other game-changers Vizio pioneered. These include micron-thin profit margins and a manufacturing strategy based on sourcing components from outside producers, rather than building them in-house. Earlier in the day, MBA students had the chance to benefit from Wang's insights, when the visionary entrepreneur spoke to Doug Wilson's marketing strategy class. "The opportunity to interact with someone like William Wang provides an incomparable experience for our undergraduate and graduate-level students," said Wilson.