Huawei Sets Up 10 More Internal “Reserve Legions”

After Chinese telecommunications and electronics giant Huawei held an inaugural meeting to mark the formation of five business “legions” on October 29, 2021, the firm is now making further moves. Domestic media outlet DI Frontline reported on Monday that Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei had issued a document at the end of 2021, setting up a “reserve legions working team,” and appointing 10 heads for the newly launched legions.

The fields that the 10 reserve legions are involved in include interactive media, sports health, display chips, industry park networks, data center networks, data center bases, site and module power, smart airports and rail links, electric power, and governance solutions.

During a trip by Ren to China’s Shanxi Province in February 2021, he explained that Huawei’s legion model came from Google, which brought together basic research scientists, technical experts, product experts, engineering experts, sales experts and delivery and service experts into one department, to granulate business and shorten the cycle of product progress. This approach, Ren contended, could help produce more positive outcomes in the industry.

Huawei’s performance has been substantially affected since it began facing restrictions by the United States in 2019. Its revenue in 2021 was 634 billion yuan ($100.4 billion), down 28.9% year-on-year, marking the first time it witnessed a decline in several years. Meanwhile, the company has initiated a series of business transformations, including the establishment of the Huawei “legions.”

According to reports, unlike the five standard legions formed last year (Coal Mines, Smart Highways, Customs and Ports, Smart Photovoltaics and Data Center Energy), the new “reserve legions” will be given a undetermined period of time to operate, with their continuation dependent on performance. At present, most of these reserve legions are in preparation mode, including personnel recruitment and organizational structuring.

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The official Huawei website shows that most of the heads of the reserve legions have worked at the company for a long time. Many have more than 20 years of industry experience. Like the company’s previous business, the legions will aim at the global markets, in addition to mainland China. The elected legion leaders, therefore, tend to have experience working abroad.

For example, Wu Hao, head of the Interactive Media (Music) Reserve Legion, joined Huawei in 2008.  He has presided over the global business of Huawei ID, SkyTone, HUAWEI Mobile Cloud, Huawei Life Service, Huawei AppGallery and Huawei Game Center. He serves as General Manager of the Business Department at Huawei’s consumer cloud services application market.