TMTPost -- Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is making a surprsing management reshuffle on its Consumer Business Group (BG), which is regarded as a refocus on its automotive business.
Credit：Huawei
Yu Chengdong will step down as CEO of Huawei Consumer BG, succeeded by He Gang, former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the BG, and remain his position of Chairman of the BG, Chinese news media outlets including 36Kr cited a publication that Huawei released on Tuesday. The publication document didn’t specify any strategy behind the management reshuffle of the Consumer BG, which covers smartphones, personal computer (PC) and tablets, wearables, mobile broadband devices, family devices and device cloud services.
Prior to the surprising and low-profile shakeup, Yu has served as CEO of Huawei Consumer BG since February, 2012. The 53-year old C-Suite, who joined Huawei in 1993, now also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Intelligent Automotive Solution BU, and Director of the Investment Review Board (IRB) for Smart Devices and Intelligent Automotive Components, according to official website.
To leave the CEO role doesn’t mean Yu’s power is limited since he is still the top leader of the consumer business with a role of chairman, a Huawei insider told Chinese digital news media outlet Jiemian. Moreover, Yu remains another role of the director of IRB for Smart Devices and Intelligent Automotive Components, which suggested he still plays a key role in decison about investment in the business since IBR is responsible for the investment approval of individual projects. Yu’s exit of CEO role may be a signal that he will focus more on Huawei’s auto business, Jiemian reported, citing people close to Huawei. The report said Yu’s work focus has undergone a gradual transition and has not been in charge of front line smartphone business since the second half of last year, handing over more relevant work to He Gang. He is deemed as the best candidate to take over Yu’s position theoretically as he used to lead handset development of Mate and P series, which set the stage for market position of Huawei smartphone in the premium mobile market.
Yu was appointed as Chairman of Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Group and exited as CEO of the unit last September. The reshuffle was said to aim to help Huawei achieve commercial success in the intelligent automotive industry as the company continues to double down investment in automobile-related fields.
Uner Yu’s leadership, sales of Huawei Consumer BG surged to its peak RMB482.9 billion in 2020, tripling from RMB160.1 billion in 2012. The BG has developed into Huawei’s second largest segment by sales. An annual report disclosed about a month ago showed the consumer business generated RMB251.5 billion for the year 2023, accounting for 35.7% of total revenue, and delivered a year-over-year (YoY) 17.3% increase in revenue, much stronger than the overall growth that year. The yearly sales posted the highest growth rate since the Trump administration blacklisted the company in 2019, compared with a merely 0.9% YoY growth during 2022. Huawei said, at the report, the consumer business met Huawei’s expectation, and its bread-and-butter information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure remains stable, bringing RMB362.0 billion with a 2.3% YoY growth.
The annual performance, especially, the consumers business, was partially driven by booming smartphone sales after Huawei surprisingly launched a presale for its flagship smartphone Mate 60 Pro in August without official release. While the company didn’t provide details about technical specifications or whether the phone supports the 5G network, media outlets at home and abroad said online tests proved Mate 60 Pro can deliver the internet speed of 5G. The smartphone sales maintained momentum in 2024. Counterpoint Research estimated in April that Huawei stood out as the best performer among all original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) , with a 69.7% YoY rise in sales in China for the first quarter. Huawei’s growth was largely attributed to the successful launch of the 5G-capable Mate 60 series as well as its enduring brand reputation, helping it to gain a massive share in the $600+ premium segment, the global market research firm noted.