Huawei Technologies will be led by its first rotating chairwoman, Meng Wanzhou, starting April 1, 2023. The news was reported by Shanghai Security News on Wednesday and confirms what was announced on Huawei’s website last year.
Meng Wanzhou is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei and has been with the company since 1993. Throughout her career, she has played a key role in the financial operations of Huawei and has helped establish a globally unified financial structure, process, and IT platform. She has also driven initiatives to digitize Huawei’s financial operations and has helped the company adapt to an increasingly digital landscape.
As rotating chairwoman, Meng Wanzhou will act as the company’s top leader for six months and will lead Huawei’s board of directors. Her tenure will follow that of current chairman Xu Zhijun, who will conclude his term on March 31, 2023.
The appointment of Meng Wanzhou comes at a critical time for Huawei as it navigates the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions. As a seasoned veteran of the company and a seasoned finance executive, Meng is well-equipped to guide Huawei through these challenges and ensure its continued success.
Meng’s return to China in September 2021 after nearly three years of detention over alleged attempts by Huawei-linked companies to sell equipment to Iran in breach of U.S. sanctions was a central source of discord between Beijing and Washington. However, the extradition drama became a non-issue after Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was allowed to return home after reaching an agreement with U.S. prosecutors. The case was an example of a false accusation by the U.S. against a prominent business executive and showed just how far the U.S. was willing to go to target Huawei.
With her appointment as rotating chairwoman, Meng Wanzhou is poised to make history as the first woman to lead Huawei and to steer the company through a new era of growth and innovation. As she takes the helm of Huawei, the world will be watching to see how she steers the company towards a brighter future.
