Wang Jian, the chairman and co-founder of high-profile Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, has died after a serious injury caused by a fall, the company said Wednesday.
Wang, 57, suffered serious injuries after falling Tuesday while on a business trip in Provence, France, HNA said.
HNA, one of China’s most acquisitive conglomerates which has been selling assets to slash debt, said that Wangm suffered a fall in Provence and received medical treatment but did not recover.
A police source in France said Wang had died after a 10 meter fall off a wall while trying to take photographs in the village of Bonnieux, near Avignon.
He tried to climb a low wall to see the view and take pictures,” the source said. After failing a first time, Wang took a run-up. “He fell over the top and dropped 10 meters.”
Wang, who held a stake of just under 15 percent in the group, was in charge of its strategy and ran day-to-day operations, sources familiar with the matter have said, while his fellow chairman, Chen Feng, was often the public face of the conglomerate.
“HNA Group extends deepest condolences to Mr. Wang’s family and many friends,” HNA’s board and management team said in a statement.
“Together, we mourn the loss of an exceptionally gifted leader and role model, whose vision and values will continue to be a beacon for all who had the good fortune to know him, as well as for the many others whose lives he touched through his work and philanthropy.”
The company's website was changed to the color grey on Wednesday morning as a gesture of respect to Wang.
Wang was one of the founders of HNA, which started out as a regional airline more than 20 years ago and grew into a Fortune 500 company.
Today HNA, based on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, is best known as the owner of Hainan Airlines Co (600221.SS) and for holding stakes in Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT.N).
Wang told employees earlier this year that the company’s difficulties were the result of a “major conspiracy” against the ruling Communist Party and President Xi Jinping by foreign and domestic “reactionary forces”, according to an internally-distributed email.
However, the embattled group appeared to have won a reprieve of sorts recently, when at a meeting held by China’s central bank, lenders were told to “support” HNA bonds, Bloomberg and the Financial Times reported last month.
