William Ding (Ding Lei) was born in 1971 in Ningbo, Zhejiang coastal province.

Fascinated by electronics from an early age, he always dreamt of becoming an engineer. Despite strong disapproval from his parents, fearing that computers will harm his health, he studied computer science at the University of Science and Electronic Technologies in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province.
He began his carrier at China Telecom, one of China major telecommunication company. His instinct pushed him to leave and accept a job at Sybase, a US software publisher. But resigned again, following his entrepreneurial spirit. In 1997, following the success of Web Portals around the world, William Ding decided to start NetEase at only 26 years old. 
This self-made man always seeking new opportunities also created 163.com, a bilingual emailing service which helped to popularize internet in China. One year later, 163.com became also a popular search engine attracting in 1999 more than 1 million users.

William Ding made his fortune with online gaming (67% of NetAase turnover).

In 2000, the Chinese government prohibited game consoles sales for public health reasons. This prohibition created a grey area enhancing the online gaming industry. Cybercafés became places for virtual socialization, allowing teenagers to escape from censorship. These cybercafés became viral and a whole generation grew up with this counter-culture. This success allowed William Ding’s company to go public on Nasdaq in 2000. In 2001, NetEase launched one of its best blockbuster: « Fantasy Westward Journey » the fastest growing online game in China at the time. Then in 2003, Ding Lei became the richest man in China. 

The massive arrival of smartphones was a turning point in the digital industry.

William Ding managed this transition brilliantly, making e-commerce his second activity (21%). Specialized in importing high-end foreign products, Kaola offers reduced delivery times, thanks to highly developed logistics. He launched an audio streaming platform (NetEase Cloud Music) supported by strong fundraising ($600M). NetEase also launched its search engine (Youdao), its payment platform (NetEase Pay) and its video streaming platform (NetEase CC). Finally, education being key to a society’s success for William Ding, he also developed a free course platform (NetEase Youdao) and reading platform (Easered).
The businessman set up partnerships with Blizzard and Microsoft. He is also associated with Pokemon Co., for the creation of the game «Pokemon Quest». NetEase holds shares in French developer Quantic Dream as well as in American studios Second Dinner and Bungie Studios. Finally, as if China was not large enough, NetEase Gaming opened an office in San Francisco, facilitating its access to the US market.

More than a tool to create value, William Ding believes that the Internet and technology can solve concrete problems like malnutrition, education or pollution.

He launched a connected farm of organic pigs in order to improve the quality of the meat.
The businessman is also driven by a strong philanthropist engagement, donating more than one million euros after the 2004 Tsunami.
William Ding lives in Guangzhou with his wife Wang Xunfang. He has been CEO of the company since 1997.