NetEase’s William Ding and Xiaomi’s Lei Jun relinquish corporate roles at video gaming entities amid tightened regulation

  • The respective chief executives of NetEase and Xiaomi have stepped down from their main roles at the companies’ related video gaming entities
  • The moves from part of a growing trend of Chinese Big Tech leaders moving away from front-office roles amid Beijing’s tightened scrutiny

NetEase CEO William Ding Lei has stepped down from multiple roles at the company’s video gaming unit. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

William Ding Lei, founder of China’s second-largest video gaming company NetEase, has relinquished his roles as legal representative and executive chairman of one of the firm’s gaming affiliates, according to information from business registration tracking platform Tianyancha.

Ding’s retreat from Shanghai NetEase Network Technology Development Limited comes days after it emerged that Lei Jun, founder of smartphone giant Xiaomi, was no longer the chief executive of the company’s gaming unit, Beijing Wali Internet Technologies Co.

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