Huawei’s high-profile consumer boss Richard Yu shifts role

(Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies has named the high-profile chief of its consumer business, Yu Chengdong, to a new role chairing the unit, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The move was announced within Huawei last week, the person said. He Gang, the consumer business group’s chief operating officer, will now be CEO. Yu’s new title is chairman.

Yu had been CEO of Huawei’s consumer unit, which includes its smartphone business, since 2012, a period that saw rapid growth, a hit from U.S. sanctions to the company’s supply chain and more recently a rebound in sales.

There has been no change to Yu’s role as chairman of Huawei’s smart car solutions business, a unit the company has said it intends to spin off into a new company, the person said.

Huawei did not comment on the matter. Yu, also known as Richard Yu, could not be reached for comment.

From 2019, the U.S. government has restricted Huawei’s access to American technology, accusing the company of being a security risk, which Huawei denies.

Yu has remained one of Huawei’s highest-profile executives, from headlining as a speaker at major industry events like CES before the U.S. restrictions to appearing with Chinese bloggers to pitch new products and Huawei’s innovation.

In September, Yu appeared at a Huawei product launch where supporters packed a stadium and chanted “far, far ahead,” a phrase that has gone viral in China to describe Huawei’s competitiveness.

Yu was also central to the launch of a Huawei-backed electric vehicle, the Aito M7 SUV, which is made in partnership with Seres Group.

Huawei saw its fastest growth in four years in 2023, in part due to a rebound in the consumer segment Yu had headed and income from new business like components for connected cars.

Meng Wangzhou, Huawei’s CFO and the daughter of the company’s founder, said last year that Huawei was no longer in the crisis mode it had hit with U.S. sanctions.