George Zhao, the chief executive of Chinese smartphone firm Honor, has resigned from his position due to personal reasons, the company said on Friday. CNBC: “The company and the Board of Directors sincerely appreciate Mr Zhao’s outstanding contributions to the company during his tenure,” Honor said in a statement.

Jian Li, who’s been at Honor for four years in various senior management positions, will succeed Zhao as CEO. In an internal memo posted by Chinese media and confirmed as accurate by an Honor spokesperson, Zhao said he was stepping down due to health reasons and planned to rest, recover and spend more time with his family.

[…] Honor’s market share in China has risen from 9.8% in 2020 to over 15% in 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. Outside of China, Honor’s market share hit 2.3% in 2024, compared to under 1% in 2020.