NetEase CEO William Ding relinquishes corporate roles at subsidiary, as China’s internet chieftains scale back their duties

The NetEase founder recently stepped down as the legal representative, general manager and director of subsidiary Beijing NetEase Media Co

He joins other Big Tech leaders in China who have scaled back their corporate duties amid the industry’s tightened regulatory regime

Reading Time:2 minutes

NetEase, China’s second-biggest video gaming company, has its headquarters in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:00pm, 27 Apr 2022

NetEase founder and chief executive William Ding Lei, one of the pioneers of China’s internet industry, has relinquished his roles at the company’s media subsidiary, joining other Big Tech leaders who have scaled back their corporate duties amid a tightened regulatory regime.

Ding, 50, recently stepped down as the legal representative, general manager and director of Beijing NetEase Media Co, according to corporate registry tracking firm Tianyancha. He was replaced by Li Li, chief executive of Cayman Islands-incorporated NetEase Media.

That change was described by NetEase as part of “normal” business operations, according to a statement on Tuesday from the Nasdaq-listed video gaming giant.

Established in 2015, Beijing NetEase Media manages news aggregator site NetEase News and other online content businesses, according to its website. Ding – ranked No 49 in Forbes’ global billionaires list, with a net worth of US$27.7 billion as of Wednesday – controls 99 per cent of the media subsidiary’s shares.

William Ding Lei, founder and chief executive of NetEase, delivers his keynote speech during the World Internet Conference, held in the town of Wuzhen in eastern Zhejiang province, on October 20, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Ding’s action continues a trend among China’s Big Tech leaders to cut back on corporate duties, reflecting the tech industry’s change of mood after a decade of exceptional growth that was blessed by lax regulation and easy funding.

NetEase CEO William Ding relinquishes corporate roles at subsidiary, as China’s internet chieftains scale back their duties

The NetEase founder recently stepped down as the legal representative, general manager and director of subsidiary Beijing NetEase Media Co He joins other Big Tech leaders in China who have scaled back their corporate duties amid the industry’s tightened regulatory regime

The NetEase founder recently stepped down as the legal representative, general manager and director of subsidiary Beijing NetEase Media Co

He joins other Big Tech leaders in China who have scaled back their corporate duties amid the industry’s tightened regulatory regime