Ant Group names new CEO after Simon Hu resigns following antitrust probe

Ant Group is in disarray following the administrative crackdown by antitrust regulators. While Jack Ma’s company remains one of the biggest in China, it has faced hurdles in recent months, and largely, this was blamed on Ma’s criticism of the government that invoked the ire of the Chinese officials.

Ant Group was supposed to file for an IPO, but this was canceled at the last minute. There were reports that stated it was China’s President Xi Jinping who made the final judgment to forbid the $34 billion IPO. As Forbes previously reported, the reason given for the decision was that the regulators are probing Alibaba, Ant’s sister company, for monopoly or anti-competitive ethics on its platform.

The resignation of the high-ranking Ant executive

In any case, as the company has come under enormous pressure due to various issues that it has to deal with, it was reported that chief executive officer Simon Hu has resigned from his post. His resignation came at a difficult time for Ant Group so the move only furthered the unrest within the company as it continues to grapple with Beijing’s demands to overhaul its business.

CNN Business reported that when Hu stepped down, he cited personal reasons as what prompted him to turn in his resignation letter. Apparently, he is leaving his post as the Ant Group’s executive director with a lot of unresolved issues, including the forced cancellation of its IPO.

"The Ant Group Board of Directors has accepted Mr. Simon Hu's resignation request, due to personal reasons," the company’s spokesman said. "We are thankful to Simon for the efforts he made at our company."

It was said that In the future if Ant Group wants to stay on top and do business in China, it may be forced to behave like a common Chinese bank than a tech firm. This is because Beijing has steadily been expanding its control over tech companies as part of its effort to gain greater control over businesses.

The replacement - Ant’s new chief

Ant Group has already chosen a replacement for Hu. Eric Jing was named as the new CEO, and his assignment is effective immediately. He is familiar with the company as he has been working with Ant for a long time now.

Meanwhile, since Jing is inheriting a lot of work from his predecessor, it was predicted that Ant Group’s IPO might not happen until 2022. It was also reported that Hu’s departure may result in a slight drop in the company’s shares since he was greatly involved in the IPO decision-making.

“Simon’s joining and departure at Ant were both closely related to the IPO,” Bloomberg quoted Michael Norris, a research and strategy manager in Shanghai, as saying. “His leaving casts a cloud on the timeline of the listing.”