Jia Yueting, the billionaire entrepreneur behind troubled Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco, has resigned his post as general manager of the group's listed entity Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp, as LeEco's major shareholder Sunac China Holdings pushes for change to bring the struggling company back on track.
Jia will continue to serve as chairman of the board of Leshi, while Liang Juna, a former executive at LeEco's smart TV unit, will become general manager of Leshi, according to a disclosure filing submitted by Shenzhen-listed Leshi.
At the same time, Leshi said its chief financial officer Yang Lijie, who has worked for Jia Yueting since 2004, will be replaced by an outsider, Zhang Wei.
The reshuffle will allow Jia Yueting to focus on the company's strategy and vision, according to the disclosure, while Yang Lijie ostensibly resigned because of personal reasons.
Sun Hongbin, chairman of Sunac, which invested RMB15.04 billion (US$2.18 billion) in LeEco in January to bring the company back from brink, told reporters last month that changes were coming.
Acknowledging Sunac's influence in management, Jia Yueting told reporters yesterday at a press conference, "Management has been Leshi's weakness, while after Sunac's investment, its chairman Sun Hongbin has given Leshi great advice on how to improve company management."
Sunac is the largest institutional shareholder in Leshi, with a 8.56% stake, while Jia Yueting owns 25.67% of the company, which mainly operates as an online video platform.
Sunac also holds a 15% stake in film production company Leshi Pictures, and 33.5% of Leshi Zhixin, LeEco's smart Internet TV unit.
Liang Jun, Leshi's new general manager, previously spent six years at Lenovo Group Ltd. and before that was deputy general manager at Leshi Zhixin, LeEco's strongest unit financially.
Liang described his vision for Leshi during the press conference, stating that his focus will be on making Leshi Zhixin China's largest smart TV company, strengthening monetization of Leshi's video content, while building an open Leshi ecosystem.
Leshi reported revenue of RMB4.9 billion during the first quarter, up 6.21% year-on-year. It reported net income attributed to shareholders of RMB125 million, up 8.76% year-on-year, according to its earnings report.