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Georgina Lee

Brian Gu, JPMorgan’s veteran investment banker and chairman of its Asia-Pacific investment banking operation, is joining Chinese electric car start-up Xiaopeng, to lead its global expansion drive.
As vice-chairman and president of Guangzhou-based Xiaopeng, also called Xpeng, Gu will directly report to He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xpeng Motors.
Xpeng is one of the few dozen Chinese electric car start-ups that have emerged in recent years after the government started issuing special manufacturing permits to companies outside traditional auto industry players.
Electric car start-up boss is willing to bet his entire fortune on beating Tesla
Gu brings to Xpeng two decades of experience advising global multinational companies, as well as China’s tech companies and entrepreneurs in mergers and acquisitions and other financing activities.
In his 14 years at JPMorgan, Gu led his team in arranging various sizeable fundraising deals for Chinese tech giants, including Alibaba Group’s record-setting US$25 billion US listing in 2014.
It was also the lead manager for China online travel company Ctrip’s raising of close to US$3 billion through a series of convertible bonds issued between 2013-16.
“Brian has been a terrific banker and partner to many of us and has helped JPMorgan strengthen our investment banking platform and become a leading adviser to new-economy companies,” said Nicolas Aguzin, its Asia-Pacific chief executive in an internal memo seen by South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Gu said he will remain an adviser to a JPMorgan’s internal council.

“Joining XPeng Motors is a great opportunity to transform China’s mobility sector and further cement the company’s leading position in the electric vehicle industry,” he said.
Before joining JPMorgan, Gu worked in the global M&A and global health care practice of Lehman Brothers in New York from 1998 and 2004.
Before working on Wall Street, he was a senior research scientist at the University of Washington Medical School.
Gu, who has a PhD in biochemistry, has been an active supporter of the Hong Kong stock exchange’s move in attracting more Chinese biotech firms to list on the Hong Kong bourse.
Chinese-backed electric car start-up Byton woos CES with model 40pc cheaper than a Tesla
In January he was part of the bank’s global management team that attended its annual global health care conference held in San Francisco, a conference which attracted over 10,000 and was also attended by a group of up-and-coming Chinese biotech companies.
The exchange has launched a consultation to seek market views on its proposal to allow biotech companies without revenue to list in Hong Kong.
He Xiaopeng said in a press statement announcing the move, that “Gu’s deep experience in technology, finance and global strategy make him a perfect fit to help the Company take the next step in its growth”.
Xpeng, in which Alibaba is believed to own a 10-per cent stake, is accelerating its growth this year with the announcement of its latest electric car model, the G3, in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The flagship model is designed to appeal to China’s new generation of young consumers that embrace an attitude of both exploration and innovation.
Alibaba owns the SCMP.


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Electric & new energy vehicles

JPMorgan’s Asia top banker Gu joins electric car firm Xpeng

Brian Gu, JPMorgan’s veteran investment banker and chairman of its Asia-Pacific investment banking operation, is joining Chinese electric car start-up Xiaopeng, to lead its global expansion drive. Photo: Jonathan Wong

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** Xiaopeng Motor unveils the company's first production car at CES trade show in Las Vegas. Photo: HANDOUT

Contender rises in JP Morgan's top ranks

JP Morgan has made executive changes following departures.

Expect a huge rise in global influence by innovative Chinese companies over next decade, says JP Morgan Asia-Pacific chief

Global bank’s areas of focus include the technology, health care and consumer sectors, particularly companies related to artificial intelligence, autonomous tech, and internet banks

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific at JP Morgan, Nicolas Aguzin speaks at the forum on innovation and entrepreneurship at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center in Admiralty. 06SEP17 SCMP / Dickson Lee

Nicolas Aguzin, JP Morgan’s chairman and chief executive officer for Asia Pacific. Photo: SCMP

Beijing’s grand plan for electric cars: looks good, but under the bonnet ...

China’s electric vehicle industry seems to be well on the road to global dominance. Dig a little deeper and the figures are less impressive than they first appear

In this Friday, April 14, 2017 photo, a security personnel riding a motorized platform moves past an electric vehicle charging station in Beijing, China. Automakers face a conflict in China's huge but crowded market: Regulators are pushing them to sell electric cars, but buyers want gasoline-hungry SUVs. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Electric cars in Xingtai, Hebei province, China. Photo: Reuters

A NextEV EVE Concept car is displayed during the first day of the 17th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai on April 19, 2017. Global automakers unveiled new SUVs, electric vehicles, and futuristic concept cars at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 19, racing for an edge in the world's biggest auto market as growth slows after years of frenzied sales. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

Two women walk past an electric car on a sidewalk in Beijing on April 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

This photo taken on May 22, 2017 shows a car passing new electric vehicles parked in a parking lot under a viaduct in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

Electric vehicles on a sidewalk in Beijing. Photo: AFP

China already the clear powerhouse in electric cars

Analysts suggest the first Chinese vehicle to actually make a splash in the US is likely to be a luxury, technology-packed SUV from Lynk & Co, a new brand created by Volvo and Volvo’s Chinese parent, Geely. The Lynk Model 01 went on sale last month in China and is expected to hit US dealerships in 2019. Chinese capital is also behind niche electric carmakers in the US, including Lucid Motors, Faraday Future and SF Motors, all based in California. Photo: Simon Song

W Motors Iconiq 7 MPV electric vehicle on the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** A demonstation car by the Iconqi was seen in the Shanghai Car Show in May 2017

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** Masses of vehicles move slowly on a road in a traffic jam during rush hours one day before the National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in Shenzhen city, south China's Guangdong province, 30 September 2017. Photo Imaginechina

File Photo: Chinese automaker Geely unveils first model of its new Lynk & Co brand in Berlin, Germany, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

China plans more perks to drive up demand for electric cars

A worker walks among electric cars in a factory in Shandong province. The country wants half a million electric cars on the road by 2015, but it is still far from reaching its target. Photo: AP

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Gu brings over 20 years of investment banking experience to Guangzhou start-up as it readies its global expansion and fundraising drive


JPMorgan’s Asia top banker Gu joins electric car firm Xpeng

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Gu brings over 20 years of investment banking experience to Guangzhou start-up as it readies its global expansion and fundraising drive

Gu brings over 20 years of investment banking experience to Guangzhou start-up as it readies its global expansion and fundraising drive