(Reuters) -JD.com Inc said on Thursday Lei Xu, president of the Chinese e-commerce giant, has been appointed as the chief executive officer and will succeed Richard Liu, effective immediately.
Xu will also join the company’s board as an executive director, while Liu will retain his title as the board chairman, JD.com said.
Last year, the company said Liu would step away from the day-to-day operations, handing those responsibilities over to Xu and switching his focus to JD.com’s long-term strategy.
Liu, who started the company that would become JD.com in 1998, will also spend more time mentoring younger management and contributing to the revitalisation of rural areas.
(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
