What’s new: Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. carried out a major management reshuffle as part of business transformation moves in response to harsh U.S. sanctions.
Richard Yu Chengdong, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, was named to concurrently head the company’s cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) business group, several Huawei sources told Caixin. The new assignment further expands Yu’s duties to oversee Huawei’s business development in cloud computing, servers, storage and AI-powered chips.
Hou Jinlong, former head of Huawei’s cloud and AI business group, was transferred to lead the digital energy unit.
Why it matters: The management restructuring reflects Huawei’s strategy of expanding its cloud computing and AI businesses in search of new growth engines amid U.S. sanctions, experts said. In November, Yu was also assigned to lead Huawei’s new smart car business unit.
Cloud and AI businesses are Huawei’s next focus, and the company hopes Yu can use his experiences in consumer business to transform the company from a device maker to a service provider, a Huawei employee said.
Yu, 51, joined Huawei in 1993 and has taken various senior posts in the company. He was a key figure who led Huawei’s transformation from a telecom equipment supplier to a leading mobile phone producer.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simson (bobsimison@caixin.com).
