Who is Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou?

The shocking arrest of chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada on December 1 is seen as entangled in the protracted diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing.

46-year-old Meng, who is also one of the vice chairs of company's board, is the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei from his first marriage. She has taken her family name from her mother and has also used the English first names "Cathy" and "Sabrina".

Ren, 74, founded the Chinese telecommunications company in 1988 and, like his elder daughter, has largely kept a low profile. Last month, he posed for a family photo shoot for French lifestyle magazine Paris Match with his younger daughter and current wife. Annabel Yao, 20, Meng's half-sister, posed in front of a grand piano with her mother, identified by the magazine as Yao Ling, and Ren, who wore a blue shirt with his hand resting on his smiling daughter's shoulder.

A Huawei spokesman confirmed to Reuters that Yao is Ren's wife.

Meng had said in an interview in 2013 that she joined Huawei in 1993 as a secretary "whose job was just to take calls". She obtained a master's degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1998, and rose up the ranks over the years, mostly holding financial roles.

She has held the positions of director of the international accounting department, CFO of Huawei Hong Kong, and president of the accounting management department, according to company's website. She was married with a son and a daughter and her husband did not work in the industry.

Meng's importance at Huawei became apparent in 2011 when she was first named as a board member. Company insiders describe her as capable and hardworking.

While her brother, Meng Ping, as well as her father's younger brother and his current wife all work at Huawei and related companies, none has held such senior management roles.

She is set to return to a Vancouver courtroom on Tuesday, as the judge weighs final issues in determining whether she should be freed on bail while awaiting extradition proceedings.

Meng faces US accusations that she misled multi-national banks about Huawei's control of a company operating in Iran, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions and incurring severe penalties. Companies are barred from using the US financial system to funnel goods and services to sanctioned entities.