(Yicai Global) March 14 -- The founders of Chinese home appliance giants Hisense and Haier have retired and it is time for the next-generation leaders to develop the companies into multinationals in the smart era, according to some analysts.

With the end of the first-generation entrepreneurs in the household appliance field after China’s reform and opening up, the new heads will have to play an important role to form tech giants in the age of intelligence and create ecosystems of the Internet of Things, analysts said.

72-year-old Zhang Ruimin, who was founder, chair, and chief executive of Haier, stepped down last November, and former Vice Chair Zhou Yunjie replaced him.

Hisense’s founder Zhou Houjian, 65, announced his retirement from chairman on March 12. Under his 30-year guidance, the company grew into a well-known diversified home appliance group. Zhou also gave up shares that he could have held for life.

Lin Lan, Hisense’s former vice chair, succeeded Zhou. Lin graduated from Tennessee Tech University in the US with a doctor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He joined Hisense in 2006, when it acquired his previous employer Kelon Electrical. He has been overseeing the company’s international business and helped it to build plants in Mexico and East Europe.

Hisense posted CNY72.5 billion (USD11.41 billion) in overseas business revenue last year, accounting for 41.3 percent of the total.

Editor: Futura Costaglione