Pou Chen Corp.

Pou Chen is a holding company that controls a massive contract shoemaking empire, servicing international brands including Nike, Adidas and Puma. It operates factories in China, Vietnam and Indonesia. The company also distributes major international casualwear brands in Taiwan and China.

The company was founded in 1969 by C.J. Tsai in the central Taiwanese farming county of Changhua. It started out making rubber shoes for export, and first became a contract manufacturer in 1979 when it made shoes for Adidas.

In recent years, Pou Chen has transformed itself into a holding company by transferring shoe production to the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) in 2002 and the distribution business to its subsidiary Pou Sheng International Holdings in 2008.

Chief Executive Patty Tsai is the daughter of C.J. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2002, and joined the family business in the same year. She was appointed CEO in 2012.