Executive Search China: China's LeTV Is Poaching International Executives For The Super Car Project

LeTV is establishing a new Super Car to take on Tesla

The smart car industry is becoming the new battlefield on which traditional car manufacturers and Internet companies are competing. One of the latest players entering the arena was announced in January last year when LeTV, best known for its streaming video platform held a press conference themed "Redefine the Future" in Beijing to announce the appointment of Lu Zhengyu a former Managing Director of Asia & Oceania Operations for Infiniti as Vice President for the newly established Leshi Super Electric Car Company, a subsidiary of the LeTV Group. In summer 2014 LeTV has reportedly made a joint investment with the domestic carmaker Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) into the American company Atieva, which is the design and engineering company for Tesla’s Roadster.

Meanwhile in August 2015 the company has released the first concept images of its Roadster, called "Le Supercar" to the public, which is aimed to compete with Tesla in the luxury car market. With the launching time far earlier than those of traditional car manufacturers the “Le Supercar” is expected to debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April this year and go on sale in early 2018. Following the trend of autonomous driving, LeTV’s Chairman and CEO Jia Yueting has set up an ambitious agenda and not only aims at developing electric cars, but also establishing a comprehensive internet-connected vehicle ecosystem, which is a revolutionary step in the industry.

Increasing number of high-profile executives are getting poached

The first manager hired for the car project in 2014 was Tony Nie, a former founding member of Lotus Engineering China. He has spent one year pulling together a Silicon Valley-based team of 200 experts that includes traditional car designers as well as people with experience in electric cars, Internet services, and smart hardware. In China LeTV additionally recruited a team of 400 people and attracted high-ranking executives from Infiniti Motor, FAW-Volkswagen, GAC Toyota Motor and SAIC Motor.

The increasing number of high-profile job changes has proven that Chinese Internet-backed electric carmaker LeTV has caught the attention of executives who are looking for a different career path. The recent hire of Winston Cheng, former Asian head of investments at Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows that LeTV is pursuing high-end talents at all costs and is willing to triple the salary for an experienced finance executive from a top-tier investment bank.

Besides offering competitive compensation packages to lure talent what could a driving force for the job-hopping of these senior executives? LeTV also attracts managers who are thrilled by the fast-paced startup spirit of the company. It provides the opportunity to reach individuals and change people's lives in a tangible way by introducing innovative products to the market, which have the potential to change the industry. Certainly it's a more measurable influence than most of the long-established carmakers offer to their leaders. The battle for executive talent between new electric car companies such as LeTV and traditional carmakers has just started and will become increasingly fierce.

Ginkgo Search Partners is an international executive search and leadership consulting firm specialized in attracting outstanding professionals to fill mid to senior level management positions in China and across Asia. In China, we are operating in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. What sets us apart from traditional search firms is our flexible approach to executive search. We serve both national and international companies in a diversity of industries and work in each market segment with only a limited number of clients. This approach ensures the least possible restriction on potential sources and provides us access to a large talent pool. Building on long-term relationships with our clients allows us to better understand your business and talent strategy needs and enables us to stay practically focused.

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Contact: Oliver Liegel, Director Executive Search - Automotive Practice
Mail: info@ginkgosearch.com
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This release was published on openPR.