Kuaishou Technology’s international business leader Tony Qiu has departed the company, according to people familiar with the matter, expanding a management reshuffle at TikTok’s biggest Chinese rival.
Qiu, who joined Kuaishou in August 2020 from ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc., was tasked with taking China’s No. 2 short-video hub to global markets. The former Bain Capital investor quit due to personal reasons, and has yet to decide on his next move, said the people, asking to not be identified discussing private information.
Qiu declined to comment, while a Kuaishou spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The executive’s departure comes months after Kuaishou’s billionaire chief, Su Hua, ceded his CEO role to fellow co-founder Cheng Yixiao, stepping back from a Chinese tech firm whose Hong Kong listing was one of the worst performers for 2021.
In January, the Beijing-based company appointed Jin Bing – formerly with edutech startup Zuoyebang – as its new chief financial officer.
Qiu previously helped Didi build its presence in Brazil through an acquisition of local startup 99. At Kuaishou, he led a team with hires from Google, Netflix Inc. and TikTok to grow Kuaishou’s global product in markets like Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
In June 2021, Kuaishou chalked up 180 million monthly users outside China, up from 150 million in April, according to the most recent figures the company disclosed.
But just as competition with TikTok-owner ByteDance Ltd. intensifies at home, Kuaishou has toned down its overseas marketing campaigns, signalling to investors who have concerns about the bottomline that it will focus on user retention rather than acquisition.
For the September quarter, Kuaishou’s 33% sales increase beat expectations and helped the company narrow its net loss. – Bloomberg
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