Xiaomi co-founder resigns due to corporate management reorganization

Xiaomi’s management is undergoing a major reorganization. Lang Wanqiang, one of the company’s co-founders, is leaving Xiaomi. CEO Lei Jun also no longer functions as president of the Chinese industry. He will be succeeded by Redmi boss Lu Weibing.

Lei Jun announced the reorganization in an internal letter, Time Weekly reports. According to Lei Jun, the company needs “stronger group management support.” In addition, the company must continue the “vitality of organizational innovation,” writes GizmoChina. Senior employees are gradually withdrawing to make room for a ‘new generation of management teams’. In the internal letter, he indicates that 2020 will be a big year for Xiaomi’s 5g business. Xiaomi will also continue to focus on smartphones and artificial intelligence of things.

Li Wanqiang confirms his departure. He worked as senior vice president of Xiaomi and has overseen projects such as Miui and Xiaomi.com. In addition, he has made contributions to Xiaomi’s business model. Qi Yan is also retiring. She also served as senior vice president within the company. Furthermore, Lei Jun is no longer the president of Xiaomi China. It is unknown what his new position within the company will be.

Lu Weibing, the head of subsidiary brand Redmi, will take over from Lei Jun. At the same time, he remains at the helm of Redmi. Lin Bin has been promoted to vice president of the company. Wang Xiang and He Yong will also be given senior positions within the company. Former CFO Zhou Shouzi becomes president of Xiaomi’s international division.

Xiaomi previously published its quarterly figures for the third quarter, which show that the turnover of the company amounts to more than 9.2 billion euros. That is a record amount for the manufacturer. Net profit was higher than expected at around 451 million euros. Xiaomi’s Chinese market share has fallen to nine percent, from 13.1 percent last year, according to a report by Canalys. In the international market, however, the company is doing very well; Xiaomi is in fourth place in the European smartphone market, behind Samsung, Huawei and Apple. The company shipped 5.5 million smartphones in Europe in the past quarter.