(Yicai) Oct. 21 -- Meituan has promoted two young executives, Qiu Guangyu, head of overseas operations, and Xiao Fei, head of software and hardware services, to its highest decision-making body, the S-team, as part of efforts to accelerate the development of its next-generation leadership.

The personnel change is a routine adjustment in the company’s leadership and does not involve any organizational restructuring, Chief Executive Wang Xing said in an internal email released yesterday. “We look forward to them bringing new perspectives and inputs to make greater contributions to the long-term success of the company,” Wang said.

The S-team, Meituan’s top decision-making body, is responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction, personnel appointments, and business layout. Before the latest expansion, it comprised Wang and seven senior vice presidents, including co-founder Mu Rongjun, Chief Financial Officer Chen Shaohui, and the head of the core local business, Wang Puzhong.

In early 2020, senior vice presidents Wang Huiwen and Liu Lin stepped back from daily management, prompting Wang Xing to launch a leadership development program. Over the past five years, Meituan has promoted nearly 10 senior managers at the vice president level or higher, most of whom were born in the 1980s.

Qiu joined Meituan in May 2022 to spearhead the company’s overseas expansion. Before joining Meituan, he was chief operating officer of the international division at ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, where he played a key role in Didi’s acquisition of Brazilian mobility platform 99.

Under Qiu’s leadership, Meituan launched its overseas delivery platform Keeta in May 2023, first in Hong Kong and later in the Middle East, before entering Brazil this year to compete with Didi’s subsidiary 99 Foods. Qiu previously said Meituan plans to invest USD1 billion over the next five years in Keeta’s development in Brazil, including digital tools, marketing, and a logistics network of more than 100,000 riders.

Xiao joined Meituan in February 2014 as a product manager and gradually rose to the position of vice president. Since April, he has overseen software and hardware services, managing business lines such as software-as-a-service, shared bicycles, and shared power banks.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine