The prolonged uncertainty over the leadership at Wuliangye Yibin Co.,Ltd. has finally been resolved.
On the evening of June 8th, Wuliangye issued a significant personnel announcement, formally adding Deng Min as a candidate for non-independent director of the company's seventh board of directors.
Prior to this, Sichuan Daily and relevant departments in Yibin City had already confirmed that Deng Min has been appointed as the Party Committee Secretary of both Wuliangye Group and its listed company, and has been recommended as the candidate for chairman of both entities.
After completing statutory procedures such as the general shareholders' meeting, this "post-70s" veteran of local state-owned enterprises will officially assume his duties following review at the annual general meeting and the board of directors election, both scheduled for June 26th.
Wuliangye's successive leaders have typically carried strong backgrounds from Yibin's local state-owned assets or political circles. The 56-year-old Deng Min is similarly a seasoned figure with many years of experience within Yibin's state-owned enterprise system.
Reviewing his career history, Deng Min entered the management of the large chemical company Tianyuan Co., Ltd. in 2003, holding positions such as Vice President, President, and Party Committee Secretary, and assumed the role of Chairman in 2023.
In September 2025, Deng Min took on the roles of Director and General Manager at Yibin Development Holding Group. Yibin Development Holding Group is one of Yibin's most important state-owned asset operation platforms and is also the largest shareholder of both Wuliangye and Tianyuan Co., Ltd.
Before this transfer to Wuliangye's core management, he had already resigned from all his positions at Tianyuan Co., Ltd. in early June.
For Deng Min, who is about to take the helm, the Wuliangye he faces is currently at the center of its most intense internal and external storms in recent years.
Firstly, there are the aftershocks from internal governance rectification. On February 28th, the former Chairman, Zeng Congqin, who had been at the helm for over four years, was placed under investigation by the Yibin Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law, triggering the most severe high-level upheaval at Wuliangye in recent years.
Secondly, there is the financial foundation, which has suddenly raised red flags.
Wuliangye made substantial retrospective adjustments to its financial reports for the first three quarters of 2025, cumulatively reducing operating revenue by over 30.3 billion yuan and reducing profits by over 15 billion yuan.
For the first quarter of 2026, net profit attributable to shareholders grew by over 80% year-on-year, but the net cash flow from operating activities was recorded at -2.535 billion yuan, a decrease of 18.384 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, representing a year-on-year decline of 116%.
From an external perspective, although Deng Min has no direct previous experience in the baijiu industry, his expertise in the refined management and capital strategies of large-scale local state-owned enterprises is unquestionable.
In the current market environment, which severely tests supply-side efficiency and intensifies competition within existing market shares, the parachuting-in of this "state-owned enterprise veteran" carries multiple expectations from local authorities. These include driving Wuliangye to achieve institutional innovation, streamline its sales system, and restore confidence in the capital markets.
Amidst the dual pressures of a deep industry adjustment in baijiu and the company's own rigorous internal rectification, the next phase of the game for this "strong-aroma leader" has already begun.
The market is watching closely to see if this new leader, appointed during a crisis, can use his industrial acumen to lead the company out of this "turbulent period."
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