What’s New: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. named Zeng Xuezhong, a former vice president of ZTE Corp., to head its mobile phone business in a further reshuffling of management in its core division.
Zeng, 47, will succeed Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin to oversee the company’s mobile phone R&D and production, reporting directly to CEO Lei Jun, Xiaomi said Tuesday. Lin, 51, will become vice chairman of Xiaomi’s newly established strategy committee.
The appointment of Zeng marks another step for Xiaomi to complete a management revamp of its mobile phone business that started last year to bring in a younger generation of executives, the company said.
The Background: Xiaomi has made several appointments since 2019 to place new managers in key posts in its mobile phone division. The overhaul came as the company’s business weakened amid a broader decline in China’s smartphone market. Xiaomi has maintained robust growth globally but come been under pressure amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Xiaomi said it expects to benefit from Zeng’s experience in market operation and 5G business. Zeng was the head of ZTE’s mobile device department between 2013 and 2017. He joined Tsinghua Unigroup Co. Ltd. after leaving ZTE and later founded 5G technology provider Hatchip Co.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)
