When a global company with $35bn in annual revenues presents its financial results, one might expect most of the attention to be focused on the accounts. But on Monday, there was a definite sense that it was the woman presenting the numbers who stole the show.

Cathy Meng is Huawei’s chief financial officer, but perhaps more importantly, she is also the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the company’s founder. Her on-the-record meeting with foreign press is the first such appearance for someone from her family, and positions her as the new public face of a company that will probably soon become the world’s biggest telecoms equipment provider by revenues.

A round-faced, fast-talking woman with an agreeable smile, the 40-year-old describes herself as someone who likes to argue and challenge.