Asian Tech Press (Feb 15) -- Tesla battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) said that its honorary chairman passed away on Monday due to illness.

Tesla's Chinese battery supplier published an obituary on its official website, saying that its honorary chairman Dr. Mike Chang died on February 14, 2022 due to illness, at the age of 79.

According to the announcement, Dr. Chang graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor's degree in 1965 and from the University of Notre Dame with a doctorate in 1973.

After graduation, he worked for Ford Motor Company, IBM Corporation and Conner Peripherals Inc. in the United States, engaged in engineering research and development and management.

In 1994, Dr. Chang joined SAE Magnetics (HK) Ltd., a TDK group company. And in 2007, he joined another TDK Group company Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), where he served as Vice Chairman and Chairman successively.

In 2011, Dr. Chang helped ATL's EV battery R&D department to become independent, establishing a new entity Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL). Since 2017, he has served as the honorary chairman of CATL.