China Vanke Names Financial Veteran as President, CEO

Real-estate heavyweight China Vanke on Wednesday appointed financial veteran Zhu Jiusheng as its chief executive officer and president, the right hand of company Chairman Yu Liang.

The appointment of Zhu was unanimously approved by Vanke’s board, the Shenzhen-listed developer said in a statement.

Zhu, 49, has been the chairman of Vanke’s financial-services unit Shenzhen Vanke Financial Advisors Co. He joined Vanke in 2012 as a senior vice president and was named chairman of Vanke Financial in 2014. Previously, he worked 19 years at China Construction Bank, one of the country’s top state-owned banks, and rose to deputy president of the bank’s Shenzhen branch.

In July 2015, as vice president of Vanke, Zhu led the design and issuance of China’s first publicly offered real estate investment trust (REIT) — Penghua Qianhai Vanke REIT.

“(Zhu) has shown excellent business and management skills since he joined Vanke. He is very good at inspiring teams to become creative and innovative,” Chairman Yu Liang said in the statement.

In June, Yu took the helm to lead Vanke from its retired founder Wang Shi. He has since taken multiple roles as the company’s chairman, CEO and president.

“I have been thinking over the past half year about not taking multiple roles,” said Yu, who said he will concentrate on developing the company’s business strategy and building corporate governance as the chairman.

Yu applauded Zhu’s deep understanding of business and boldness in leadership. “He is highly respected among young employees,” Yu said.

“Zhu is familiar with all types of Vanke’s businesses and has an acute awareness of the changing business environment. It is valuable for Vanke in transition,” Yu said.

Vanke, which fended off a high-profile hostile takeover attempt by Baoneng Group last year, reported a record annual sales of 530 billion yuan ($84 billion) in 2017 despite tightening regulatory control over the housing market.

As one of China’s most profitable residential developers, the company has expanded into property management, residential leasing, commercial property management, logistics and elderly care.

Vanke’s shares in Shenzhen rose 3.3% on Wednesday to 37.56 yuan while its Hong Kong-listed shares dropped 0.9% to HK$38.3.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)