JD.com founder Richard Liu hands over chief executive’s role to Xu Lei, becoming the latest Chinese tech billionaire to step back

Xu Lei, with more than 10 years at the company, will also join the board as an executive director, while Richard Liu remains as chairman
In 2021, JD.com reported an operational profit of US$600 million, down 66.7 per cent year on year

JD.com

Coco Fengin Beijing

Published: 10:49am, 7 Apr 2022

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E-commerce giant JD.com said its founder Richard Liu Qiangdong has handed over the chief executive role to company president Xu Lei, in the latest example of a Chinese tech billionaire retreating from daily operations.

Xu, with more than 10 years at the company, will also join the board as an executive director, while Liu remains as chairman where he will “continue to focus on guiding the company’s long-term strategies, mentoring younger management, and contributing to the revitalisation of rural areas”, JD.com said in a statement on Thursday.

“I’ll devote more of my time to JD’s long-term strategies and future drivers as we continue to work on the most challenging, yet valuable things”, Liu said.

Liu is among a number of high-profile Chinese tech founders who have stepped back from the daily operations of their companies to dilute the so-called “key man risk” amid a regulatory crackdown in China’s internet sector. Others include Colin Huang Zheng from Pinduoduo, Kuaishou Technology’s Su Hua and Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok owner ByteDance.

JD.com’s new CEO, Xu Lei, who previously served as company president. Photo: Sohu

JD.com's last major management reshuffle was last September, when Xu was promoted to president of the company to run “day-to-day operations”, the firm said at the time.

Xu has held various senior roles during his decade-plus time at JD.com, including CEO of JD Retail, chief marketing officer of the company, head of JD Wireless and head of the marketing department. As president of the company, he was in charge of operations and collaborative development of the various business units.

One man’s downfall imperils a huge Chinese business, yet again

Amid the economic slowdown and Beijing’s ongoing antitrust crackdown on internet platforms, JD.com has seen hard times, just like its industry peers.

In 2021, the company reported an operational profit of 4.1 billion yuan (US$600 million), down 66.7 per cent year on year, although net revenue grew 27.6 per cent to 951.6 billion yuan.

Recent lay-offs at the firm triggered an outcry when it was revealed on social media that the termination letters sent to dismissed employees said “congratulations on your successful graduation” from the company, although the phrase is default content that applies to everyone who leaves, including those who resign voluntarily.

The lay-offs were mainly in JD.com’s group-buying business Jingxi, which competes with budget e-commerce site Pinduoduo in lower-tier cities. Jingxi was expected to let go of 10 to 15 per cent of its employees, equal to about 400 to 600 people, according to local media 36Kr.

A JD.com business unit that handled sales of books, pet products and cross-border e-commerce on the company’s main site also planned to cut staff by 15 to 20 per cent, 36Kr reported.

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