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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, in Barcelona in February. 25, 2024.
Pau Barrena | AFP | fake images
George Zhao, chief executive of Chinese smartphone company Honor, has resigned from his position for personal reasons, the company said 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 roles, will succeed Zhao as CEO.
In an internal memo published by Chinese media and confirmed as accurate by an Honor spokesperson, Zhao said he was resigning for health reasons and planned to rest, recover and spend more time with his family.
Zhao called the decision to leave Honor “the most difficult decision” he has ever made.
Honor was spun off from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in 2020 in a bid to avoid US sanctions that were crippling Huawei’s smartphone business.
Under Zhao’s leadership, Honor has smartphones launched aggressively with focus on international markets. Zhao focused on high-end devices, including foldable smartphonesas it sought to get Honor to look beyond China and challenge companies like Samsung and Apple.
Honor’s market share in China has increased from 9.8% in 2020 to more than 15% in 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. Outside China, Honor’s market share reached 2.3% in 2024, compared to less than 1% in 2020.
The company has tried to keep pace with its rivals by launching artificial intelligence features of your device.
Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said the company’s focus on high-end devices and technology is likely to continue under new leadership.
“Honor’s focus on premiumization should continue if the brand wants to continue building its brand equity and point of differentiation against existing competitors, especially in premium markets like Europe,” Shah told CNBC.
“Focusing on innovative foldable designs and advanced AI features and close partnerships with leading component suppliers would be key.”
Zhao’s successor Li will be tasked with trying to expand Honor’s presence overseas amid fierce competition, focusing on making the brand more recognizable.
“Many don’t know about Honor” outside of China, Counterpoint’s Shah said. “Building brand value is difficult and the company needs more time, money and points of differentiation.”
