George Zhao, CEO of Chinese consumer electronics brand Honor, smiles as he shows off the new Honor Magic 6 Pro smartphones during a presentation ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry’s biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 25, 2024.
Pau Barren | Afp | Getty Images
George Zhao, CEO of Chinese smartphone company Honor, has resigned from his position due to personal reasons, the company announced on Friday.
“The company and the Board of Directors sincerely appreciate Mr. Zhao’s outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure,” Honor said in a statement.
Jian Li, who has been with Honor for four years in various senior management positions, will succeed Zhao as CEO.
In an internal memorandum 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.
Honor was spun off from Chinese telecom giant Huawei in 2020 in an attempt to avoid US sanctions that have crippled Huawei’s smartphone business.
Under Zhao’s leadership, Honor is of aggressively launched smartphones with a focus on international markets. Zhao focused on high-end devices, including foldable smartphoneswhile asking Honor to look beyond China and challenge Samsung and Apple.
Honor’s market share in China has grown from 9.8% in 2020 to over 15% in 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. Outside of China, Honor’s market share reached 2.3% in 2024, compared to below 1% in 2020.
The company tried to keep up with its rivals so that launch of artificial intelligence features on your device.
Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said the company’s focus on high-end devices and technology is likely to continue under the new leadership.
“Honor’s focus on premiumization should continue if the brand is to continue building its brand equity and point of differentiation against existing competitors, especially in premium markets such as Europe,” Shah told CNBC.
“Key would be a focus on innovative folding designs and advanced AI features, and close partnerships with leading component suppliers.”
Zhao’s successor, Li, will be tasked with trying to expand Honor’s presence overseas amid fierce competition, with a focus on making the brand more recognizable.
“Many don’t know Honor” outside of China, Counterpoint’s Shah said. “Building brand equity is difficult and a company needs more time, money and points of differentiation.”
