Terry Gou (born October 8, 1950) is a Taiwanese businessman and the founder and chairman of Foxconn, a company that manufactures electronics under contract for other companies, including Apple Inc. It is the largest provider of such electronic manufacturing services in the world, with factories in several countries, primarily in mainland China, where it employs 1.2 million people and is the country’s largest exporter.
Gou was born in Banqiao Township, Taipei County (now Banqiao, New Taipei City). His parents had lived in mainland China, in Shanxi Province, before fleeing to Taiwan in 1949, where Gou was born. His father had previously worked as a police officer. As the first son in his family, Gou received a formal primary education and went on to attend university. After graduating, he worked in a rubber factory and later in a pharmaceutical plant until the age of 24. Gou has two younger brothers, Tai-Chiang Guo and Tai-Cheng Guo, who are also successful entrepreneurs.
Terry Gou founded Hon Hai in Taiwan in 1974, investing $7,500 and starting with ten elderly workers, manufacturing plastic parts for television sets in a rented shed in Tucheng, a suburb of Taipei. A turning point came in 1980 when he received an order from Atari to produce joystick consoles. He expanded his business further in the 1980s by embarking on an 11-month journey across the United States in search of clients. As an aggressive salesman, Gou often entered companies uninvited and was able to secure additional orders, despite having security called on him several times.
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