Smartphone giant Honor names Huawei veteran to lead firm as CEO George Zhao Ming resigns

Honor’s leadership shuffle could add some degree of uncertainty to the company’s preparations for an initial public offering

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Honor’s long-standing chief executive, George Zhao Ming, has resigned from the smartphone maker owing to personal reasons. Photo: Visual China Group via Getty Images

Wency Chenin ShanghaiandIris Dengin Shenzhen

Published: 9:19pm, 17 Jan 2025Updated: 9:24pm, 17 Jan 2025

Chinese smartphone giant Honor’s long-standing chief executive, George Zhao Ming, has resigned owing to personal reasons, according to the company, as veteran Huawei Technologies executive Li Jian takes the helm of the firm amid its preparations to go public.

In an announcement on Friday, Honor’s board of directors acknowledged Zhao’s “outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure” and expected his successor Li to “continue to deliver innovative products and experiences to consumers around the world”.

Zhao, who had led Honor since it was spun off from Huawei in 2020, described stepping down from the company as the most difficult decision he has ever made, according to his farewell statement posted on the firm’s internal online forum, which was seen by the South China Morning Post.

“Over the past decade, Honor has been everything in my life,” wrote Zhao, who became head of Honor in 2015, when it was still the budget smartphone arm of Huawei. “From the V40 model onwards, new Honor [post spin-off] went through lows … and also surged ahead in both the Chinese and overseas markets.”

Still, he pointed out that the long hours and intense work had taken a toll on his health. He added that he is keen to recover, read and spend more time with his family.

Zhao expressed his gratitude to the Honor team, noting that more than 10,000 people joined the Shenzhen-based firm in the past four years. He said he looked forward to the company’s continued success in 2025.

Veteran Huawei Technologies executive Li Jian takes over as chief executive at Chinese smartphone giant Honor. Photo: Handout