George Zhao, CEO of Chinese consumer electronics brand Honor, smiles as he shows off the new Honor Magic 6 Pro smartphones during a presentation on the eve of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the largest annual gathering of the telecommunications industry, which will be held in Barcelona on February 25, 2024.
Pau Barrena | Af | Getty Images
George Zhao, chief executive of Chinese smartphone maker Honor, resigned for personal reasons, the company said on Friday.
“The company and the board sincerely appreciate Mr. Zhao's outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure,” Honor said in a statement.
Jian Li, who has worked at Honor for four years in various senior management positions, will succeed Zhao as CEO.
In an internal memo published by Chinese media and confirmed as accurate by an Honor spokesman, Zhao said he was stepping down for health reasons and planned to rest, recuperate and spend more time with his family.
Zhao called the decision to leave Honor “the hardest decision” he has ever made.
This move comes as Honor looks to achieve success IPO first announced in 2023.
Honor was spun off from Chinese telecom giant Huawei in 2020 to avoid US sanctions that were crippling Huawei's smartphone business.
Under Zhao's leadership, Honor did this smartphones aggressively introduced to the market with an emphasis on international markets. Zhao focused on high-end devices, including: foldable smartphoneslooking for Honor to expand beyond China and challenge companies like Samsung and Apple.
According to Counterpoint Research, Honor's market share in China increased from 9.8% in 2020 to over 15% in 2024. Outside China, Honor's market share reached 2.3% in 2024 compared to less than 1% in 2020 r.
The company tried to keep up with its rivals launching artificial intelligence features on your device.
Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said the company would likely continue to focus on high-end devices and technologies under new management.
“Honor should continue to focus on premiumization if the brand wants to continue to build its brand value and differentiate itself from existing competitors, especially in premium markets such as Europe,” Shah told CNBC.
“Focusing on innovative foldable designs and advanced AI features and working closely with leading component suppliers would be key.”
Zhao's successor, Li, will be tasked with expanding Honor's presence overseas in the face of stiff competition, with a particular focus on increasing brand recognition.
“Many don't know honor” outside China, said Counterpoint's Shah. “Building brand equity is difficult, and the company needs more time, money and points of differentiation.”