Raindrop Geomagic CEO named Woman Extraordinaire

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team Dec 7, 2004

Ping Fu of Raindrop Geomagic named Woman Extraordinaire of 2004 by Business Leader magazine

Ping Fu, president and CEO of Raindrop Geomagic, has been named one of Business Leader magazine's 2004 Women Extraordinaire.

Business Leader is a monthly publication covering the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill region of North Carolina.

The Women Extraordinaire awards honour, commitment, contribution and impact in society.

Ping Fu came to America from China in 1982 and co-founded Raindrop Geomagic in 1996.

The company's products enable designers and engineers to capture scan data from physical parts and create highly accurate digital models for applications such as digital dentistry, historic preservation of the Statue of Liberty, redesign of a retro Harley-Davidson gas tank, and quality inspection to ensure that circuit breakers will last 400 years.

Fu was named president and CEO of Raindrop Geomagic in early 2001.

In a time when venture capital was scarce, her leadership helped jump-start product sales and significantly reduce costs.

Raindrop Geomagic became profitable in 2003 and increased revenue by 2,136 percent over the last five years.

In FY 2004, Raindrop Geomagic increased product sales by 49 percent, doubled its total number of employees, and grew internationally by acquiring a European technology company and establishing subsidiaries in Germany and Asia.

In addition to running a successful international company, Fu has a happy family life and actively participates in community service activities.

She has conducted lectures at UNC, Duke and NC State; donated money to Exploris, the local interactive museum, to help sponsor the China-On-Tour cultural exhibit; and donated money to the Computational Geometry conference, enabling students to attend at a significantly reduced fee.

"Ms Fu exhibits all of the attributes that would make any person extraordinary," says Dan Davies, editor and publisher of Business Leader.

"She's overcome hurdles to become both a professional and personal success, standing as an example for employees, peers and women across the region.".