Honor CEO quits amid IPO preparations

Honor chief executive Zhao Ming has resigned due to health reasons, amid the Chinese smartphone maker's push for an initial public offering.

His departure also comes at a time when sales of the Huawei spin-off's smartphones have weakend.

In an internal memo, Zhao said that it was the “toughest decision” of his life to leave Honor, mainland media reported.

Zhao said the Honor needs to solve its problems systematically to ensure growth and he was saddened that he had to step down.

The company said it had accepted Zhao's resignation "after careful consideration."

Senior director Li Jian, who joined Huawei in 2001 and moved to Honor in 2021, will take over as chief executive.

Earlier this month, reports began to surface that Zhao had left Honor together with his team, but Honor had said the rumors were untrue.

Honor's phone sales fell by 13.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, and its market share fell to 13.2 percent.

Honor first announced plans for an IPO in 2023.

THEMIS QI