Honor CEO George Zhao steps down due to health
He led the brand for 10 years.
End of an era. Honor announced that George Zhao has stepped down after 10 years as CEO, citing health reasons. Zhao joined Huawei in 1998 and took up several senior positions. He later led Honor as a sub-brand in 2015, and was key to overseeing it being spun off Huawei in late 2020.
Under Zhao’s leadership, the 14,000-strong “new” Honor took over Huawei’s relationship with Porsche Design, and also created hits like the ultra-thin Magic V2 plus Magic V3 foldable phones. It's probably just a matter of time before Honor also does a “tri-fold” phone. According to Canalys, Honor came fifth in China's smartphone market share in 2024, with Huawei in second place.
In an internal note, Zhao said having worn himself out in the past 27 years, he will now focus on his health, spend time with his family and "read some books."
Zhao's replacement, Jian Li, joined Huawei in 2001 and then moved to the "new" Honor in 2021, where he eventually became the HR department head. He is expected to take Honor to IPO, after the company completed Completes its shareholding reform in late December 2024.