JD.com promotes finance chief to CEO

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has promoted finance chief Sandy Ran Xu to CEO as Lei Xu steps down “due to personal reasons”.

The company said Xu Lei will immediately begin the process of handing the CEO role over to Xu Ran, “leaving ample time for a seamless transition before his retirement in June”.

He has been at the business for over a decade in various senior positions and is credited with making “significant contributions to the company’s development”, but had only officially been CEO for a year. Following his retirement, he will serve as the first chair of the advisory council of JD.com.

Incoming CEO Xu Ran first joined JD.com in July 2018, before working her way up the ranks and being promoted to CFO in June 2020. Prior to joining the business she was an audit partner and spent almost two decades at PwC.

Ian Su Shan, currently chief financial officer of JD Logistics, will replace Xu Ran as finance chief of JD.com.

JD.com chair Richard Qiangdong Liu told investors: “We are confident that Sandy as the CEO and Ian as the CFO will provide strong leadership for JD.com going forward. Sandy has been a great CFO, and has also contributed significantly to our business functions and demonstrated profound insights about our business and strategic development.”

Xu Ran said: “It’s a great honor to become the CEO of JD.com, and I deeply appreciate the trust of both Richard and the board,” commented Ms. Sandy Ran Xu. “Richard and Lei have set a strong foundation for our future endeavors and will continue to provide invaluable support for JD.com’s long-term strategic development.”