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Meet the new guy who will be selling Xiaomi to the world

Xiang Wang was the former head of Qualcomm China

Outgoing Xiaomi Vice President for International Hugo Barra and his replacement Xiang Wang are both engineers by training, but there is one stark difference: their social media presence.

Barra has over 100,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook, while Wang’s LinkedIn profile looks sparse and outdated. So who exactly is this enigmatic figure who will be inheriting Barra’s role as Xiaomi’s chief missionary?

From Xiaomi’s website, it says that Wang has a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Beijing Polytechnic University. He has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and semiconductor industry. He managed sales and marketing in leading companies including Motorola and Lucent/Agere.

Xiang Wang, Senior Vice President of Xiaomi
Xiang Wang, Senior Vice President of Xiaomi

Xiang Wang, Senior Vice President of Xiaomi

In 2002, he became the head of Qualcomm China. It was there he formed a relationship with Xiaomi, helping to manufacture processor chips for its flagship smartphones. He also helped other Chinese electronics company such as Huawei and Lenovo to grow.

But his tenure at Qualcomm was not without bumps. In 2015, Qualcomm was slapped with a massive US$925 million fine for carrying out anticompetitive practices which included exorbitant license fees and other unfair patent license conditions.

Still, Xiaomi’s co-founder Lei Jun took a liking to him, and in 2013, offered him the role as Senior Vice President at Xiaomi.

“He was the one who successfully helped Qualcomm establish a strategic cooperation with Xiaomi, which has only deepened over time. I believe that with Wang Xiang’s excellent leadership skills, over 20 years of experience in the industry, and close ties with players within the mobile ecosystem, he will be able to steer Xiaomi to the next level of success in strategic cooperation and establishing important partner relations,” said Jun, in an official statement.

At Xiaomi, Wang currently manages the Supply Chain and Intellectual Property teams. But in his new role, he will be charged with evangelising Xiaomi’s good name to the world. Xiaomi’s smartphone sales in China has taken a beating recently, though in India, it is looking pretty positive.

The company isn’t too concerned, however, claiming its long term strategy is hinging on other product verticals such as smart home devices (in case you didn’t know, Xiaomi also makes anything from suitcases to bicycles).

It is highly unlikely Wang will gather a large social media following like his predecessor, but marketing the brand will depend on not tweets and Facebook posts, but a sound business strategy. It will be exciting to see what he can come up with in the future.

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