Why do many technology billionaires have to leave the leadership position?-Information Technology

Many of China’s top tech executives are relinquishing leadership roles amid Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on the sector.

Recently, the founder of e-commerce platform JD.com, Richard Liu has unexpectedly resigned. The company said Liu will step down as chief executive officer but will continue to serve as chairman of the board.

Last year, Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, owner of TikTok, and Su Hua, founder of Kuaishou, TikTok’s main rival, both stepped down as CEOs.

In 2020, Colin Huang, founder of the popular e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, stepped down as chief executive officer.

And in 2019, Jack Ma resigned as chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba.

In recent years, China has launched numerous antitrust investigations against technology companies, increased data security oversight, and restricted the use of Internet of consumers.

The crackdown has eroded investor confidence and hurt the company’s earnings. Last month, Alibaba and giant Tencent both reported record slow revenue growth. JD.com also posted its first annual loss in three years.

JD.com and many other big tech companies are also laying off thousands of workers.

“The driving force was mainly political, and now these people have to make way for their successors,” Naubahar Sharif, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told Business Insider.

Richard Liu, founder of JD.com, has remained silent since being raped by a student in 2018.

JD.com founder, Richard Liu, has stepped down as CEO. Photo: VCG/Getty Images

– Age: 49 years old

– Field: E-commerce

– Year of establishment of JD.com: 1998

– Net worth (according to Forbes’ list of ‘World’s Billionaires’): 10.5 billion USD

Liu, known as the “Jeff Bezos of China”, stepped down as CEO on April 7. The company said Liu will continue to serve as chairman of the board and focus on guiding long-term strategies, mentoring younger management teams and contributing to the revitalization of rural areas. .

Liu founded Jingdong – otherwise known as JD.com in Beijing in 1998, selling electronic devices and computer components. The SARS outbreak in 2003 forced him to move his business online. The company debuted on Nasdaq in 2014, raising $1.8 billion in an IPO.

Besides, Liu was also involved in a personal scandal. In 2018, a student at the University of Minnesota alleges that Liu was raped, but he was released a few hours later because of insufficient evidence.

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, left months after Beijing rejected the company’s IPO plans

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming. Photo: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

– Age: 39

– Field: Social media

– Year of establishment of ByteDance: 2012

Net worth: 50 billion USD

Zhang, who founded ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, stepped down as chairman in November, six months after leaving his role as CEO. Known for being extremely private, Zhang said in his resignation letter that he is not a social person and lacks the skills to be a good manager.

News of Zhang stepping down from a leadership role at ByteDance comes as Beijing begins to scrutinize the company. As reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in early 2021, ByteDance decided to delist publicly after authorities wanted the company to address data security risks.

Colin Huang, founder of Pinduoduo, abruptly left his role as president in March 2021

Pinduoduo by Colin Huang. Photo: VCG/Getty

– Age: 42

– Field: E-commerce

– Year of establishment Pinduoduo: 2015

Net worth: $11.3 billion

Pinduoduo is a leader in “group buying”, where you can invite friends to buy together for a discount. Huang describes the company as a cross between Costco and Disneyland.

Huang left the role of CEO of Pinduoduo in 2020 and stepped down as chairman of the board last March. The company announced that Huang has stepped down from his role as president to allow new leaders to guide the company in its next phase of growth.

Huang’s sudden departure in March 2021 comes amid fierce criticism over the company’s intense work culture.

In December 2020, an employee collapsed and died after leaving work at 1:30 a.m. Her death is widely attributed to overwork. Less than two weeks later, a second employee committed suicide. Pinduoduo did not comment on the deaths of either person.

Not long after, an employee spoke out against the company’s work culture on social media, but he was later fired. The reason given by the company is that he posted extreme comments.

Su Hua, founder of short video platform Kuaishou, resigns just a few months after authorities fined the company for spreading child pornography

Su Hua, founder of Kuaishou, during a press conference in 2019 in Beijing, China. Photo: VCG/Getty Images

– Age: 40

– Field: Online video streaming

– Year of establishment of Kuaishou: 2011

Net worth: $4.3 billion

Su Hua stepped down as CEO of Kuaishou last October. Neither Su nor the company gave a reason, but a press release said Su had no disagreement with the board.

Kuaishou is a competitor to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where users can create and watch short videos and shop online.

Su’s departure comes after Chinese authorities fined Kuaishou and other Internet companies in July for sharing child pornography videos, Bloomberg reported.

Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, has gradually given up his leadership role over the years

Jack Ma was once one of China’s most influential men. Photo: Elaine Thompson-Pool/Getty Images

– Age: 58

– Field: E-commerce

– Year of establishment of Alibaba: 1999

Net worth: $22.8 billion

For more than two decades, Jack Ma has led Alibaba from a small start-up focused on cross-border commerce to Empire valued at $460 billion and employs more than 100,000 people.

When Alibaba went public in New York in 2014, it was the world’s largest IPO at $25 billion.

But over the years, Ma has slowly ceded control of the company. In 2013, he stepped down as chief executive officer but remained the chairman of the company’s Board of Directors. In 2019, he resigned as chairman and, finally, in 2020 relinquished his seat on Alibaba’s board of directors.

Despite relinquishing a leadership role at Alibaba, Ma retains control of the group through his current seat at the Alibaba Partnership, a committee elected by board members.

Ma annoyed Beijing with his outspokenness over the years. In October 2020, he criticized lawmakers, arguing that existing regulations were stifling China’s technological innovation.