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Huawei smartphone spin-off Honor is reshuffling management after the abrupt departure of its CEO

Honor, the spin-off handset brand of Huawei Technologies, has made further management changes this week following the abrupt departure of its CEO last Friday, as the company prepares for a stock market listing amid cut-throat competition in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Following the appointment of Huawei veteran Li Jian last Friday to replace outgoing CEO George Zhao Ming, Honor’s management shake-up continued as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for the China region, Jiang Hairong, also tendered his resignation, according to a Monday report in the China Business Journal.

According to the report, the company’s global CMO Guo Rui will also temporarily take on the role of the China region. In addition, Honor’s China sales chief Zheng Shubao will be replaced by Chen Haoqian, the regional head of eastern Jiangsu province.

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Honor confirmed the changes when contacted on Tuesday. “This is a routine adjustment by regional managers,” a company representative said.

A look at Honor’s smartphone factory in Shenzhen. Photo: Handout alt=A view of Honor’s smartphone factory in Shenzhen. Photo: Handout>

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The latest departures reflect the internal complexity within the company after it underwent an organizational overhaul as part of preparations for an initial public offering (IPO), which was announced in November 2023.

Honor’s new management team will face increasing challenges, including recovering lost ground in the local smartphone market and putting the IPO on track.

Honor, China’s fourth-largest smartphone maker in 2024 based on IDC data, has seen its market share shrink due to cutthroat competition at home from rivals including the resurgent Huawei, its former parent company.

“Huawei had the most direct impact [on Honor]” said Will Wong, senior research manager for client devices at IDC Asia-Pacific. “While Huawei also posed challenges for other local and foreign brands, Honor faced unique challenges due to its association with [its former parent].”

Honor’s Chinese shipments fell 14.9 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year, the biggest decline among the top five smartphone makers in the period, according to IDC. It ranked fifth with a 13.7 percent share in the quarter, behind Apple, Vivo, Huawei and Xiaomi, up from 16.8 percent in the same period in 2023.

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