U.S. days as global economic hegemon are ending, Lenovo CEO warns

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Lenovo Chief Executive Officer William Amelio coined the term “world sourcing” shortly after taking the top exec’s job at the world’s fourth-largest PC manufacturer. Now, Amelio talks about “Global 2.0”

In speeches in Greensboro on Tuesday and Raleigh on Wednesday, the former IBM and Dell executive warned his listeners that the world’s economy continues to evolve toward one without borders. In a speech in Raleigh one year ago, Amelio warned that Lenovo and other companies were also operating without borders – in other words, corporate loyalty was to brand and bottom line, not flag or patriotism.

Now, Amelio is carrying his globalization talk further. He’s the industry equivalent of “The World is Flat” author and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman.

In his remarks, Amelio, who lives in Singapore, is warning the U.S. that its days as global economic hegemon are rapidly nearing a close. It won’t be long before China’s GDP exceeds that of the U.S., and India isn’t far behind China in growth, Amelio said.

“In front of us, the world is changing rapidly,” Amelio said in Greensboro at the UNC Greensboro Business Summit. “It’s time to change the global map.”

The failure of the U.S. to coordinate and implement a strategy to staunch the economic bloodbath currently enveloping the world certainly is proof of Uncle Sam's fading muscle.

Amelio told the audience that “Global 2.0” globalization also means that innovation isn’t proprietary to the West while the East and developing world provide cheap labor. Now, the East and others are providing more of both.

To him, “offshoring” no longer makes sense because so many products include parts made in several different places.

Unfortunately for U.S. and Western European workers, offshoring isn’t passé. The term is harsh reality as the continuous shipping of jobs overseas continues, with IBM and other workers often required to train people taking away their livelihood.

Such is life, Amelio said in Raleigh.

While Lenovo maintains its global headquarters in Morrisville as part of the legacy from acquiring IBM's PC business in 2005, most of its global operations (and sales) remain in China, where the company was formed. A global firm with more than 25,000 employees, Lenovo has invested heavily over the past year to establish a global brand.

Like IBM, Cisco and so many others, Lenovo recognizes that global markets are the future, not the U.S. or Europe alone. He said there’s “no doubt” China will have a larger GDP than the U.S. by as early as 2020, The N&O reported.

So what does Global 2.0 and continued “world sourcing” mean for the U.S.?

More companies like Lenovo who call the U.S. home – in name only.