Huawei have done something really strange.
Basically, the Chinese phonemaker has decided that one CEO is not enough, and instead they need four that share the role, alternating every six months.
It would seem that this is a reaction to their disappointing recent financial report, which showed profits had plummeted by 53%.
The company claims this drop is because of the heavy R&D investment they have made in the Huawei Ascend, their new flagship, ultra thin, quad-core smartphone, leaving their profits at 11.6 Billion yuan (about £1.1 billion).
Huawei’s revenue came largely from carrier sales, as is to be expected: 115 Billion yen (about £11.3 billion), came from this source source, which accounts for around 75% of the firm’s revenue. Unfortunately, the company have been unable to crack the lucrative market as yet, owing partially to its links with the Chinese Government and Military.
So why have they chosen to rotate their CEOs like chickens in a rotisserie? Well, your guess is as good as ours. It’s possible there are four people at the top who think they’d do a better job if they were in charge – but it could well be for any other reason whatsoever.
One of Huawei’s cast of CEOs, Ren Zhengfei had the following to say: “By authorising a group of ‘bright minds’ to act as rotating and acting CEOs, the company allows them to make decisions within certain boundaries while they face a constantly changing world. This is our rotating CEO system. Huawei’s rotating and acting CEOs are comprised of a group of executives. As they seek harmony in diversity, they can help the company adapt quickly to changes in the environment. They make decisions collectively, which avoids corporate rigidity caused by any particular individual being too obstinate and also avoids the uncertainties caused by unexpected risks to company operations.”
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