George Zhao has stepped down as CEO of Honor, citing personal health reasons and a desire to spend more time with family
Honor really appreciates all the hard work Zhao put in during his time there. He’s been a big part of the company’s growth since it spun off from Huawei back in 2020.
Jian Li, who’s been with Honor for four years, will take over as CEO. Zhao mentioned in an internal memo that he wants to focus on his health and spend more time with his family. He called this decision the hardest he’s ever had to make.
Under Zhao’s leadership, Honor has been pushing hard in the smartphone market, especially in international sales. They’ve been focusing on high-end devices, like foldable smartphones, trying to compete with big names like Samsung and Apple.
Since 2020, Honor’s market share in China has grown from 9.8% to over 15% in 2024. Outside of China, they’ve also seen growth, hitting 2.3% market share this year.
The company is also working on adding AI features to their devices to keep up with competitors. Neil Shah from Counterpoint Research believes that the new CEO will continue this focus on premium products.
He mentioned that building Honor’s brand outside of China is a challenge. Many people still don’t know about Honor, so they’ll need to invest time and resources to change that.
