Meng Wanzhou Photo: CFP

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer (CFO) of Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co, was named as rotating chairwoman, one of the highest leadership positions at the company. Her appointment comes more than six months after her return from an arbitrary detention in Canada.

Meng, who has a long career as the financial leader of the multinational and experience in grappling with US tech crackdown, is expected to bring more scientific and professional management to Huawei after playing a more important role in Huawei's decision making, according to an expert.

Meng replaced Guo Ping as one of the three rotating chairpersons of the company, according to the company's website on Friday. The three executives, Xu Zhijun, Hu Houkun and Meng, will rotate as Huawei's top leaders to chair the company's board of directors and executive committee every six months. The current rotating chairman is Hu.

Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, maintains her role as CFO of the company, according to Huawei's site.

While the other two rotating chairpersons' expertise are in technology and marketing, Meng has led the rise of Huawei's global financial management platform that covers more than 160 countries and regions, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times.

Meng is expected to bring more scientific and professional management to Huawei for future development, Xiang added.

Meng on Monday made a public appearance at a press conference in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, since returning from Canada in September. She was detained by Canadian authorities for nearly three years due to the US' political framing. 

At the press conference, Huawei reported that its 2021 revenue reached 636.8 billion yuan ($99.97b), down 28.6 percent year-on-year. However, net profit surged 75.9 percent year-on-year to 113.7 billion yuan.

"The results are in line with expectation," Meng said, noting that Huawei may have passed through the black barrier.

Huawei's latest overhaul in top executive team happens while the company is still making various adjustments and shifting in operation to cope with the impact of US restrictions and crackdowns, Xiang said, adding that the company has already passed through the toughest times, and is expected to see a noticeable recovery next year.

Global Times