(Yicai Global) March 1 -- Unisoc Shanghai Technology announced that the leading Chinese chip developer has replaced Chief Executive Officer Steve Chu amid an ongoing restructuring of its parent company, a move that has prompted concern among some industry insiders.

Chu was replaced by Ren Qiwei as acting CEO, Shanghai-based Unisoc said in a statement late yesterday, adding that the change was a normal management reshuffle.

Chu became Unisoc's CEO in 2018 after working for tech companies such as Huawei Technologies, Hisilicon, and Datang Mobile. Some industry insiders are worried about his departure, as it may cast doubt over Unisoc's future development, a source close to the chipmaker told Yicai Global.

“Many members of the Unisoc team worked for Hisilicon with Chu before and have followed him for years,” the person said, predicting that his replacement will impact the company.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Unisoc had an 11 percent share of the global mobile chip market, according to research firm Counterpoint, up from close to zero in 2019.

The change of CEO may be related to the ongoing restructuring of Unisoc’s parent company, Tsinghua Unigroup, the source added. Investors and creditors approved Tsinghua Unigroup’s bankruptcy restructuring at the end of last year.

Ren, the new CEO, has a doctoral degree in microelectronics from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and worked at Philips Semiconductor and Qimonda Technology Xi'an before joining Tsinghua Unigroup in 2015. He served as senior manager at several Unigroup units.

Ren’s elevation has not been the only change at Unisoc. On Feb. 11, Wu Shengwu was substituted with Zhao Weiguo as chairman and legal representative.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione