“Silicon Valley’s ‘Zen Master’.”
— CNBC
“At Google, Mr. Tan has a reputation as a top-flight engineer.”
— The New York Times
“For years, [Silicon Valley’s] high priest was Steve Jobs, a Zen enthusiast. These days, it’s Chade-Meng Tan.”
— The New Yorker
For those who don’t know me, my name is Meng. For those who know me, my name is still Meng. I hope you didn’t lose your way coming here. If you did, rest assured that wherever you go, there you are.
My given name is Tan Chade-Meng, where the family name (“Tan”) comes first, in the Chinese tradition. The name Chade-Meng came from the story of a famous Chinese ruler. I started using the nickname “Meng” when I realized Americans can’t do names with more than one syllable. Unfortunately, in Singapore where I grew up, Meng is also the name of Singapore’s most famous orangutan.
I was trained as a Software Engineer. I used to introduce myself simply as “an engineer”, then people would ask me, “So, what type of engineer are you?”. My reply was, “Well, I am a good engineer”. This reminds me of a joke:
Q: How many software engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, it is a hardware problem.
Until my retirement from corporate America, I worked in a modest little company called Google, you might have heard of us. I was one of their earliest employees and held the job title of Jolly Good Fellow (Which nobody can deny). According to the press, it was the world’s best job title.
I also had the coolest job description: “Enlighten minds, open hearts, create world peace”. In my free time, I try to save the world.
I’m a New York Times bestselling author. Check out my books Search Inside Yourself and Joy on Demand. My books have been endorsed by world leaders such as President Jimmy Carter and spiritual leaders such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. That made my mom proud.
Explore things about Meng
For more about my (mis)adventures, you can read my bio.
If you need to find me, you can use the Meng Locator, a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence program that can locate me at any time.
You can also see some of my childish drawings.
Or read my resume. (I thought I would put my resume here in case somebody wants to give me a billion bucks or invite me to be the absolute dictator of some small nation or something…)
Or: See my body.
Meng’s motto: Life is too important to be taken seriously.
Meng showing his best side.
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