Honor's Chinese CEO steps down due to personal reasons.

• On Friday, Honor announced that George Zhao, the CEO of the Chinese smartphone company, resigned due to personal reasons.
• As CEO, Jian Li is expected to maintain Honor's emphasis on premium devices and technology, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Zhao.
• Under Zhao's leadership, Honor has launched smartphones with a focus on international markets.

On Friday, Honor announced that George Zhao, the CEO of the Chinese smartphone company, resigned due to personal reasons.

In a statement, Honor expressed gratitude to Mr Zhao for his exceptional contributions to the company during his time with the company.

Jian Li, a senior manager at Honor for four years, will succeed Zhao as CEO.

According to an internal memo by Chinese media, Zhao announced his resignation due to health reasons and intends to take time off to rest, recover, and spend more time with his family.

The most challenging choice Zhao has ever had to make was to depart from Honor.

Honor is planning to execute an IPO, which it initially announced for 2023.

In 2020, Huawei spun off its honor brand to evade US sanctions that were severely impacting its smartphone business.

Under Zhao's leadership, Honor has aggressively launched smartphones with a focus on international markets. Zhao focused on high-end devices, including foldable smartphones, as he looked for Honor to look beyond China and challenge the likes of Samsung and Apple.

In 2024, Honor's market share in China surpassed 15%, while its market share outside of China reached 2.3%, up from less than 1% in 2020, according to Counterpoint Research.

To remain competitive, the company has introduced AI features on its device.

Under the new leadership, Counterpoint Research's emphasis on premium devices and technology is expected to persist, as stated by Neil Shah, a partner at the company.

To maintain its brand equity and differentiation from competitors, particularly in premium markets such as Europe, Honor should continue to emphasize premiumization, as advised by Shah to CNBC.

"Innovative foldable designs, advanced AI features, and partnerships with leading component suppliers would be crucial."

Li, Zhao's successor, will be responsible for expanding Honor's presence overseas while facing intense competition, with a primary objective of increasing the brand's recognition.

""Building brand equity is challenging and requires more time, money, and differentiation points, as many people outside of China are not familiar with Honor," Counterpoint's Shah stated."