Baidu hires Weibo CFO Herman Yu as finance chief amid AI push

SHANGHAI — Chinese search engine giant Baidu, Inc. said on Monday it had hired the finance chief of Weibo Corp. as its chief financial officer (CFO), marking a leadership change for the firm as its hones its focus onto artificial intelligence (AI).

The appointment of Herman Yu, Weibo’s CFO since 2015, sees Baidu stalwart Jennifer Li step down as CFO after almost a decade in the role to become a senior adviser to Baidu’s top management, the company said in a statement.

Baidu is trying to drive a recovery in its fortunes after a string of regulatory investigations last year hit profit. A sharper focus on mobile and AI helped boost the firm in the latest quarter.

“I look forward to working with Herman in his new capacity, as Baidu enters the next stage of growth in the AI era,” Baidu Chairman Robin Li said in a statement, citing Mr. Yu’s long financial experience with US-listed firms.

Baidu has been forced to revamp its business model and focus to keep pace with its main local tech rivals — Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd — which are spending billions of dollars expanding into new markets.

Li, one of China’s most powerful female tech figures, will remain chief executive of Baidu’s private equity unit Baidu Capital, which focuses on investment opportunities in AI. —