The rise of female power in the new era of Xiaomi Group
In this new era full of opportunities and challenges, the development of technology companies is inseparable from the contribution of outstanding talents. As a leading technology company in China, Xiaomi Group has always adhered to the concept of "born for fever" and is committed to bringing users the ultimate experience. Recently, Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Group, announced a major personnel decision on his personal Weibo, appointing two female executives at the same time for the first time, which attracted widespread attention in the industry.
Profiles of new female executives
The two newly appointed female executives are Xu Fei and Zhang Jianhui. Xu Fei has been appointed vice president and group CMO of Xiaomi Group, and she will report directly to Group CEO Lei Jun. Xu Fei graduated from Tsinghua University with a degree in computer science and worked as a product manager at Google. In 2010, she joined Xiaomi as the No. 46 employee, and since then she has started her career growing with Xiaomi.
Zhang Jianhui has been appointed Vice President and Chairman of the Group Procurement Committee of Xiaomi, and will also serve as General Manager of the Group's Assets and Engineering Management Department, and will report directly to Lei Jun. Zhang Jianhui is an employee who joined Xiaomi in the early days of its business, and has gone through more than ten years of development with Xiaomi.
Outstanding contributions of female executives
When announcing the appointment, Lei Jun said that Xu Fei and Zhang Jianhui "are both classmates who joined Xiaomi at the beginning of its business, and have grown together with Xiaomi for more than ten years and have made important contributions in many positions." Indeed, these two female executives have played an important role in Xiaomi's development journey, contributing their wisdom and strength to the company's success.
Since joining Xiaomi, Xu Fei has been the product leader of the MIUI operating system team, and has participated in and led the product definition of multiple versions of MIUI V4, V5, MIUI 6, etc., bringing the ultimate smooth user experience to Xiaomi mobile phones. After MIUI 6, she began to rotate within the company, successively serving as the general manager of the marketing department in China and the vice chairman of the brand committee. At the Xiaomi 14 Ultra launch event in February this year, Xu Fei appeared as a keynote speaker, showing the black technology of Xiaomi's latest flagship model to the global audience. Her calm and confident speech style and in-depth understanding of products have made countless rice fans fall in love with her.
And Zhang Jianhui is the hero of Xiaomi's offline channel construction. According to the description of Xiaomi's official biography "Unstoppable", when Xiaomi decided to develop offline channels in 2015, Zhang Jianhui, who was pregnant, was arrested to take charge of this important task. Although she didn't know anything about offline operations at the time, she quickly entered a "learning state", benchmarking the operation model of Apple's experience store, learning everything from furniture suppliers, exhibition displays to lighting systems, and tailoring them to Xiaomi. The ping efficiency of Xiaomi Home is among the best in the world, and it is on a par with brands such as Apple and Tiffany, which is inseparable from Zhang Jianhui's important contributions.
An important step for Xiaomi to promote women's leadership
Xiaomi's appointment of two female executives at the same time is regarded by the industry as an important step for Xiaomi to promote female leadership, reflecting Xiaomi's maturity and advancement in corporate governance and ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance management).
There has been a long history of gender inequality in the tech and finance sectors, with a relatively low percentage of female executives. Xiaomi's appointment of two female executives in one go undoubtedly sends a positive signal to the outside world, demonstrating Xiaomi's determination to attach importance to gender equality and promote female leadership. This will not only help attract more outstanding female talents to join Xiaomi, but also inject new vitality into Xiaomi's long-term development.
Market reaction
Xiaomi's share price performance on the day of the announcement of the new appointment is a testament to the market's positive reaction to this. On the same day, Xiaomi Group's share price rose 6.47% against the market to close at HK$19.1, with a market value of HK$476.6 billion. A number of well-known investment institutions have positive expectations for Xiaomi Group's performance in the first quarter.
Citi Engineer Kyna Wong pointed out in the report that Xiaomi Group's share price is expected to be supported by strong first-quarter results in the next 30 days, and the launch of the Mix Fold4 phone will also demonstrate Xiaomi's strength in high-end models, which will further push the stock price higher.
UBS maintained a "buy" rating on Xiaomi Group in the research report, expecting Xiaomi's revenue to increase by 25% year-on-year to 74.4 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, and non-GAAP net profit to increase by 51% to 4.9 billion yuan, with a target price of HK$20. The bank believes that Xiaomi's mobile phone shipments in the first quarter increased by 21% year-on-year to 39.3 million units, reflecting limited inventory accumulation; Xiaomi's IoT and home consumption business revenue will also increase by 21% year-on-year to more than RMB20 billion, and gross profit margin will increase by 3.3 percentage points year-on-year and 5.1 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 19%.
The market outlook is promising
In addition to the outstanding performance in the first quarter, investors are also optimistic about Xiaomi's future development prospects. Citi specialist Kyna Wong expects Xiaomi's share price to be supported by strong first-quarter results over the next 30 days, and the launch of the Mix Fold4 will also showcase Xiaomi's strength in high-end models, further pushing the stock price higher.
The development of Xiaomi's automotive business will also be a growth driver in the future. The Xiaomi SU7 has received an overwhelming response since its launch in March, with deliveries exceeding 7,000 units in April. Lei Jun revealed that Xiaomi is continuing to expand production capacity to ensure that the delivery target of 100,000 units is achieved this year.
Although Xiaomi Auto is still in the investment period, it will bring new revenue growth points to Xiaomi Group in the long run. UBS expects Xiaomi Auto to contribute profits to the group from 2025 onwards, with a profit margin of 10% by 2027.
In the context of the simultaneous development of new and old businesses, Xiaomi Group performed strongly in the first quarter, and its future development prospects are also promising. The appointment of the two female executives not only demonstrates Xiaomi's commitment to gender equality and diversity, but also injects new vitality into the company and helps Xiaomi take off in the new era.