Geely’s founder resigns as chairman of Geely Auto

In a surprising move, Eric Li (Li Shufu), the founder of the Geely brand, has stepped down as the chairman of Geely Auto and handed the position to An Conghui, as reported by Reuters. This is part of a major management shuffle with a long-term succession plan in mind.

Geely was founded in November 1986 initially as a refrigerator parts company, and eventually became a motorcycle manufacturer in 1994, then became one of the biggest privately owned Chinese automakers when it entered the automotive industry in 1997.

Since then, Eric Li has been at the helm as chairman of Geely Auto, but this new position shakeup will still see him as the chairman of the Geely Holding Group, as this will allow Li to focus on “other business commitments”. Gan Jiayue will be the new CEO of Geely Auto, while Gui Shengyue will become vice chairman.

Part of this structural reorganization is due to moving away from a family-centered management model, allowing for individuals and talents to shine with more professional decision-making, especially with a focus on “organizational systems and a structured talent pipeline”.

Geely will also focus on pursuing partnerships with other brands, just as the brand recently made a deal with Ford to produce vehicles and have a joint venture with the US automaker. With this, it looks like Geely is adopting a more flexible, Western approach to its management while still having its senior talent oversee operations.

^{Photo from Volvo}