JD.com Inc (JD), a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, said on Thursday that it had appointed Lei Xu, the company’s president, as its new Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.
Xu will succeed Richard Liu and will also join JD.com Inc’s board of directors as an executive director.
Richard Liu will continue to serve as the chairman of the board and to focus on guiding JD.com’s long-term strategies.
Lei Xu has been part of JD.com’s team for more than ten years. Prior to his role as president of JD.com, Xu was in several senior roles in the company, including Chief Executive Officer of JD Retail, Chief Marketing Officer of JD.com, head of JD Wireless and head of marketing department.
“It’s an incredible honor and privilege to assume the role of CEO of JD.com and lead such talented and dedicated management and employees,” Lei Xu said in a press release.
“In the past 19 years, Richard has established and upheld JD’s strategic positioning as a supply chain-based technology and service provider and the principle of ‘doing business the right way,’ setting a strong foundation for our future endeavors. I believe Richard has built the most precious assets for JD. I share his business philosophy and commitment, and will continue to create value to our users, business partners and the society. Together with the leadership team, I will further build on that and drive high-quality and sustainable growth of the company going forward,” he added.
JD.com shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Thursday. The stock went down 3.33% ($1.97) to $57.10, after touching an intraday low at $56.21. The latter has been a price level not seen since March 16th ($54.75).
Shares of JD.com Inc have retreated 18.51% so far in 2022 compared with a 10.96% loss for the benchmark index, Nasdaq 100 (NDX).