JD.com Inc.’sbillionaire founder Richard Liu has stepped down as chief executive officer of China’s No. 2 online retailer, joining tech tycoons that exited top management roles after Beijing’s sweeping internet-sector crackdown.
Xu Lei, who was recently promoted to president after more than a decade at the company, takes the helm of the e-commerce titan effective immediately. Liu’s lieutenant joins JD’s six-member board while Liu remains chairman, the company said in a filing Thursday. Its shares closed 3.2% lower in Hong Kong.
Richard Liu
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg
Some of China’s richest entrepreneurs have relinquished the reins of their companies in the past two ...
