Sunac has made new personnel adjustments centered around three veteran executives from the "Shunchi" era.
Recently, news emerged that the company has appointed Executive President and Chengdu-Chongqing Regional President Zhang Qiang to oversee the group's real estate segment.
Just days before this, Wang Mengde stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Sunac Services Holdings Ltd (HKG: 01516), with Sunac Executive President Huang Shuping taking over the role. This move means Huang Shuping is now responsible for the operations and management of both the cultural tourism and property services segments.
It also signifies that Wang Mengde, Sunac's "second-in-command," has stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the company's three major business lines.
According to internal sources at Sunac, both Zhang Qiang and Huang Shuping will continue to report to Wang Mengde. Wang's role, however, has been adjusted to focus more on the company's overall strategy and key business matters.
This change is particularly intriguing for Wang Mengde, who has been subject to multiple court orders restricting high-consumption activities.
Veteran Executives Take on Broader Roles
In December of last year, Sun Hongbin made a rare public appearance at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Chongqing Bay project. At that time, Zhang Qiang, who spoke on behalf of Sunac, was already serving as an Executive President of Sunac China Holdings Ltd (HKG: 01918).
Zhang Qiang has been with Sunac for over 20 years, having followed Sun Hongbin since the Shunchi days.
At Shunchi, he started as a frontline salesperson and served as the marketing head from 1999 to 2002, gaining experience in team and marketing management.
He joined Sunac in 2003, was promoted to Vice President a decade later, and concurrently served as the Executive General Manager of Shanghai Sunac Greentown, overseeing the cooperative ventures between Sunac and Greentown.
Not long after, he transitioned to become Vice President of Sunac's Shanghai Region and General Manager of the Suzhou company.
Zhang Qiang became widely known to the public around 2016.
At that time, he served as a director of Jinke Property Group on behalf of Sunac. During his tenure, he frequently cast dissenting or abstaining votes at Jinke's board meetings, participating in corporate governance and strategic decision-making, becoming a key figure in Sunac's equity battle with Jinke.
After 2023, Sunac's Southwestern Region was split into the Chengdu-Chongqing and Yunnan-Guizhou regions. Zhang Qiang was transferred from the Yangtze River Delta to head the Chengdu-Chongqing region as President, responsible for coordinating projects in cities like Chongqing and Chengdu.
His new role overseeing Sunac's real estate business can be seen as a promotion for this veteran executive.
The other key figure in this round of personnel changes, Huang Shuping, is also a senior executive who has been with the company since the Shunchi era.
He currently holds multiple positions, serving as an Executive Director, Executive President, and President of Sunac's Southern China Region, while also overseeing the cultural tourism and property services segments.
Huang Shuping has a financial background, having previously served as the group's Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary for a period.
This aspect is quite similar to Wang Mengde.
Wang Mengde also served as Sunac's Chief Financial Officer for several years before being appointed Executive President.
Wang Mengde's Strategic Pivot
Wang Mengde possesses extensive real estate experience and financial knowledge and is known for his low-profile approach.
During Sunac's early expansion phase, he played the role of a steady "financial officer."
Around 2017, at the press conference for Sunac's 15 billion yuan investment in LeEco, Wang Mengde sat quietly beside Sun Hongbin, maintaining a composed demeanor during key transactions.
However, it was widely known externally that he was the one managing the preparation of financial resources.
Leveraging his strong financial skills and coordination abilities, he later played a significant role in promoting Sunac's acquisition and integration of the Wanda cultural tourism projects.
After being appointed as Sunac's Chief Executive Officer in September 2015, Wang Mengde stepped more into the spotlight, championing the company's strategic transformation and product philosophy.
For example, in November 2018, when Sunac launched its first Chinese-style product portfolio, Wang Mengde stated from the podium that excelling in Chinese-style products was a particularly important part of Sunac's product strategy.
In the following two years, as the company successively initiated strategic upgrades, he served as the keynote speaker, announcing Sunac's evolution into a "Comprehensive Service Provider for Chinese Families' Better Living" and a "Co-builder of Better Cities."
Now, having stepped back from the three major business lines, the internal explanation at Sunac is that Wang Mengde will focus more on the company's overall strategy and key business matters.
This role transition seems logical. After all, in recent years, his trajectory has been clear, shifting from managing operations to overseeing strategy.
However, external observers point to another underlying reason.
That is, in recent years, due to Sunac's liquidity challenges, Wang Mengde, as the legal representative of Sunac Real Estate Group, has been subject to multiple court orders restricting high-consumption activities.
In April of this year, because Sunac Real Estate Group failed to timely disclose its inability to repay due debts and related asset seizures, Wang Mengde received a warning letter from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
This has provided a catalyst for the management succession, prompting the company to make adjustments and have Wang Mengde "take a backseat."
Signs of Succession by the Next Generation
Within Sunac, signs of succession by Sun Hongbin's eldest son, Sun Zheyi, are also becoming increasingly apparent.
Sun Zheyi began serving as an Executive Director of Sunac in 2017, entering the group's core decision-making layer. The following year, when Sunac Cultural Group was established, he was appointed as its President.
At the end of 2023, after over four years of experience at the Cultural Group, he took over the role of President of Sunac's Beijing Region, returning to the front lines of the real estate business.
This was viewed by the outside world as a significant signal of the second generation taking over.
At that time, the former President of Sunac's Beijing Region, Jing Hong, was promoted to Chairman of the Beijing Region, strongly suggesting a supportive handover to the next generation.
Currently, given the pace of the company's management transition, it remains to be seen whether Sun Zheyi will receive further new assignments in the future.
Comments