Xiaomi Global founding team member Alvin Tse to take charge of India biz

Chinese smart devices company Xiaomi on Friday announced a rejig in the top management of the India unit with handing over the charge of the country’s business to its global founding team member Alvin Tse.

The development comes at a time when the company has been accused of violating foreign exchange laws by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED on April 29 passed an order to seize Xiaomi India’s funds worth over Rs 5,551 crore over the alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act, which has been stayed by the Karnataka High Court.

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Former India operations head Manu Jain was questioned by the ED in the case and Xiaomi alleged in a filing before the Karnataka High Court that its top executives were threatened with “physical violence and coercion” during their questioning by ED investigators in Bengaluru. Jain has been elevated to a global role as group vice president and is currently responsible for International Strategy including International Marketing and PR. He now operates from the UAE.

Since the transition of Jain, Xiaomi India leadership team — Chief Operating Officer Muralikrishnan B; Chief Business Officer Raghu Reddy, and Chief Financial Officer Sameer BS Rao — have been leading the India business. “Alvin Tse, a Xiaomi Global founding team member, POCO founding member, former General Manager of Xiaomi Indonesia, will assume the role of General Manager, Xiaomi India,” it said. Post Jain’s transition, Alvin will join hands with the Xiaomi India leadership team and support the company’s next phase of growth.

Tse is an Stanford University alumnus. Besides, Anuj Sharma will be rejoining Xiaomi India as Chief Marketing Officer. Sharma was with Xiaomi between September 2018 to 2020 and then moved to POCO, a sub brand of Xiaomi. “In his role, Anuj Sharma will spearhead the advancement and execution of the overall brand and marketing strategy. He will play an instrumental role in bolstering Xiaomi’s connect with consumers across the nation,” Xiaomi said.