CEO of Chinese smartphone maker Honor, George Zhao, has resigned due to personal reasons. Mr. Zhao will be succeeded by Jian Li, a senior exec who has been with the company for four years.
A report by Nikkei Asia stated that Mr. Zhao posted the news on the company’s internal online forum saying it had been the “most difficult decision” of his life but that he had to step down due to health reasons. Mr. Zhao was planning to take the break to rest and spend time with his family.
“The company and the Board of Directors sincerely appreciate Mr. Zhao’s outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure,” Honor noted in a statement addressing him.
Mr. Zhao led the company since 2020, the year when the smartphone maker was spun off from Huawei.
Notably, Honor is preparing to go public, which it had announced first in November 2023. To this effect, the company said it had changed its shareholding structure and name to become a joint-stock limited company last month.
The company expanded to international markets under Mr. Zhao’s leadership, becoming the top foldable handset manufacturer in western Europe in the second quarter last year after surpassing Samsung.
It was the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in China last year with a 15 percent market share behind Vivo, Huawei, Apple and Oppo.
Published - January 20, 2025 11:16 am IST
