Former JD.com CEO still the leader of the London-based e-commerce giant

The founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, Richard Liu, has been quietly running the company from London despite stepping down as CEO in 2022.

Liu has spent the last few years in London running JD.com, in addition to stints in Dubai, Tokyo and Hong Kong, according to the Financial Times.

The founder, who is also chairman of JD.com, resigned as CEO in April 2022 and was succeeded by Xu Lei, who served as the company’s chairman at the time.

However, management continued to change. Lei later resigned for “personal reasons,” making way for JD.com’s current CEO, Sandy Xu, in Beijing.

Sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper that the founder continued to participate in the management of the company, including being responsible for investment strategy, transactions and expansion decisions.

JD.com told the Financial Times: “CEO Sandy Xu leads the management team and oversees our day-to-day operations.

“Mr. Liu focuses on long-term strategy as CEO, and international development is part of the company’s long-term strategy.

“Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that he and our management team spend time in various markets outside of China, pursuing opportunities, building businesses and assembling the right teams.”

Earlier this year, JD.com considered making a takeover bid for Currys but ultimately decided against it.

Reports earlier this month also suggested the company could be considering British courier Evri. The Chinese online retailer joins other potential bidders including Polish parcel company InPost and Cainiao, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.