Xiaomi changes India leadership team, Alvin Tse to take over as general manager

Alvin will take over as Tse’s general manager Xiaomi India, the Chinese smartphone maker announced on Friday. The change of leadership comes after top executives leave as Xiaomi finds itself in a case of income tax evasion.

The company is also embroiled in a remittance case of Rs 5,500 crore which is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. The probe agency had summoned the former managing director of the company, Manu Jain. Jain was transferred last year to the role of Global Group Vice President. Since then he has moved to Dubai.

Xiaomi said in a statement that Tse, a founding member of Xiaomi Global and former general manager of Xiaomi Indonesia, will assume the role of general manager at Xiaomi India. “Following his transition, Alvin will join hands with Xiaomi India’s leadership team and support the company’s next phase of growth,” the company said.

A founding member of Poco, a company sub-brand, Tse is a British national and “… has helped Xiaomi successfully expand into several global markets.” The Stanford University-educated executive has worked in four of the world’s largest smartphone and internet markets, Xiaomi India said in a statement.

Since Jain’s transition, the leadership team at Xiaomi India – Chief Operating Officer Muralikrishnan B, Chief Business Officer Raghu Reddy, and Chief Financial Officer Sameer BS Rao – has been leading the company’s India business independently and continues to drive the brand. Will keep, the company said.

Read also | Xiaomi India director is leaving the company for offline sales

The company will further strengthen the leadership team with Anuj Sharma, who will rejoin Xiaomi India as Chief Marketing Officer. Sharma will lead the progress and execution of the overall brand and marketing strategy and will play a role in cementing Xiaomi’s engagement with Indian consumers.

Blame

In case of income tax, a Reuters The report quoted a source as saying that the Chinese company had bought smartphones from contract manufacturers in India at inflated prices, which allowed it to record a small profit and avoid corporate taxes.

Authorities withheld Rs 3,700 crore in the company’s accounts after raids on Xiaomi India offices in December.

In the Rs 5,500 crore remittance case, the company allegedly made payments to foreign entities in the guise of royalty. The matter is currently in court, which has allowed the company to make only business-related payments and not royalty transactions.

During the investigation, Xiaomi India’s Director of Offline Sales Sunil Baby left the company. Baby was instrumental in shaping Xiaomi’s offline presence in India.