On the move
Life insurer reshuffles top executives
China Life Insurance (Group) Co appointed Zhao Peng (pictured) and Ruan Qi as vice-presidents, and Yang Hongren as its chief operating officer. Zhao’s appointment has already received regulatory approval. Prior to the appointment, Zhao served as the assistant to the group’s president. Ruan served as chief technology officer. According to finance.qq, Tencent’s website for business news, China Life now has seven vice-presidents, more than the minimum mandatory level of five to six. If no further changes are made to the current rules, China Life may make more adjustments to its management team.
Cheetah elevates ex CEO Fu Sheng to chairman
Cheetah Mobile Inc has made changes to its board of directors. Fu Sheng, former CEO of Cheetah, was promoted to company chairman. Former chairman Lei Jun handed in his resignation and would cease to be a member of the board, but will continue as an advisor to the company. Cheetah also appointed Zhang Ning, Zhao Tianyang and Ma Yi as its new independent members on its board. Sheng expressed his appreciation to former board members for their contribution to the company, and showed his confidence in the new team to bring in further business growth.
Claude Sarailh is CEO of Metro supermarket arm
Metro AG, the largest supermarket chain in Germany, appointed Claude Sarrailh as the CEO of its China arm effective May 1. Current CEO Jeroen de Groot will return to Europe this autumn for a new role. During his four-year stint in China, Groot developed Metro’s multi-channel business and achieved continuous growth in both sales and profit. He facilitated the digital transition of Metro China. Sarrailh currently serves as the CEO of Metro’s Italy arm. He has served Metro for eight years so far in its marketing and sales departments.
Jose Munoz to steer Nissan Motor’s local unit
Nissan Motor Co appointed Jose Munoz as the head of its China operations. Munoz was the former chief of Nissan’s US arm and the chief performance officer at Nissan. Even after joining the China arm, Munoz will continue as the CPO. Jun Seki, the current head of China operations, will be a senior vicepresident managing manufacturing and production operations and related cooperation. The changes follow Nissan’s announcement that together with its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng Group, it plans to invest 60 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) in China’s market to boost sales.
Chen Yi, Xu Xinglong land key Norwegian Cruise roles
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd appointed Chen Yi as vice-president of its China arm in charge of sales, and Xu Xinglong as chief of marketing in China. Prior to joining the company, Chen has served trip service provider Booking.com BV in its hotel sector, and HRS Hotels Group Inc in sales. Xu has over 14 years‘ experience in marketing and has worked at marketing service provider BBDO Worldwide Inc.