Manu Kumar Jain quits Xiaomi after 9 years
Manu Kumar Jain has resigned from the Xiaomi Group after serving for nine years in various top positions at the Chinese tech giant. He announced his exit today via a Twitter post titled Change is the only constant in life. Jain, who was serving as Xiaomi's Global Vice President, is credited for leading the company in India and bringing it to the top.
Jain joined Xiaomi in 2014
Jain, an alumnus of IIT Delhi (1993-2003) and IIM Calcutta (2005-2007), joined Xiaomi Group in 2014 to lead the company's operations here. Before that, he was known in the business community for co-founding and successfully setting up Jabong, a fashion and lifestyle e-commerce portal which was acquired in 2016 for $70 million by Flipkart. Jain was Xiaomi's India managing director from 2014 to 2017.
"These last nine years were truly phenomenal"
"After nine years, I am moving on from the Xiaomi Group. I feel confident that now is the right time, as we have strong leadership teams across the world," wrote Jain. "These last nine years were truly phenomenal and I will forever cherish the love and support I have received from fans, partners, team members and friends."
Xiaomi became India's top smartphone brand under Jain
While Jain has bagged several awards and recognitions, he is most credited for leading and cementing the Xiaomi brand in India. When the company started its operations here, it "started as a one-person start-up." Within three years of Jain's joining in 2014, Xiaomi became the top smartphone brand in India, that too "without spending any advertising money," as per Jain's farewell post.
Meeting PM Modi was the proudest moment for me: Jain
Recalling his time at Xiaomi, Jain wrote, "The proudest moment for me was meeting Hon. Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi ji and being a small catalyst in the Make-in-India revolution. Soon 100% of our smartphones and smart TVs were being Made-in-India." "Our expanding scale of operations helped generate more than 50,000 jobs in India," he said.
Jain was summoned by Enforcement Directorate last year
Since December 2021, Xiaomi has been under Enforcement Directorate's (ED) scanner. In April 2022, the law enforcement agency seized Rs. 5,551 crore from Xiaomi India in a massive crackdown under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). In connection with the case, Jain was summoned by ED in April when he was questioned about the India operations of the company and his statement was recorded.
'Will take some time-off before taking up next professional challenge'
"Over the next few months, I will take some time-off, before taking up my next professional challenge. I am a builder at heart and would love to build something new, ideally in a new industry," wrote Jain. "I am proud of having been a small part of the ever growing startup community, twice. I hope to return to it with another fulfilling challenge."
