Leadership Changes at Xiaomi: Ma Ji and Yan Kesheng Step Down as VPs

According to the Chinese media platform “Shixiang”, Xiaomi Group’s Vice President Ma Ji has recently stepped down from his position. Inside sources have revealed that Ma Ji’s personal profile on the collaboration platform Lark now indicates a “resigned” status, and the same also applies to another Vice President of Xiaomi Group, Yan Kesheng.

Just a few months ago in September, profiles of both Ma Ji and Yan Kesheng were still featured in the executive directory on Xiaomi‘s official website. However, their photos and profiles have now been discreetly removed, leaving behind only a group photo of Xiaomi‘s top brass taken in May this year.

Insiders revealed that Yan Kesheng, born in 1970, has recently retired. As the 53rd employee of Xiaomi, Yan is undoubtedly one of the company’s seasoned veterans. It has also been revealed that Wang Xuanran, the General Manager of Xiaomi‘s Camera Department and also one of Xiaomi‘s first hundred employees, is currently on leave.

The retirement of seasoned executives like Yan Kesheng is not unexpected, but the resignation of 45-year-old Ma Ji has come as a surprise. According to media reports, the average age of Xiaomi‘s top executives in 2021 was 48.6 years, suggesting that Ma Ji was a key member of Xiaomi‘s younger leadership.

Xiaomi employees have privately commented on Ma Ji’s departure: “Ma Ji has made significant contributions to the company, and his quiet exit is surprising. It doesn’t seem like a case of retiring after achieving success.” Rumors of Ma Ji’s resignation had been circulating within Xiaomi since the end of September, but most people dismissed these as baseless gossip.

Ma Ji, one of Xiaomi‘s key executives, was primarily responsible for the group’s internet business, which was a major profit source for Xiaomi in its early days. Despite the substantial profits, there were some grumblings among employees. An insider revealed that in 2023, Ma Ji had suggested that his department should forgo the year-end bonuses for that year.

Yan Kesheng, on the other hand, was primarily responsible for the group’s hardware business. He was the gatekeeper of Xiaomi‘s product quality and a significant spender in the early days. After Xiaomi‘s IPO in 2018, Yan was the first executive to be appointed, when Lei Jun issued an internal memo appointing him as the chairman of the group’s quality committee, reporting directly to Lei Jun himself.

With the departure of these two key figures in software and hardware, Xiaomi might be signaling the end of an era and the start of a new chapter. Xiaomi‘s third-quarter report this year shows that the company, driven by its automobile business, is transitioning towards a new phase where it plans to generate revenue from both software and hardware.

These recent high-level personnel changes represent not just a restructuring of Xiaomi‘s management, but also a reevaluation of its strategic direction. Whether these changes will translate into a competitive edge in the market remains to be seen.

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