China-headquartered e-commerce firm JD.com has hired Jason Ningfeng Hu as head of strategic investment, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Hu has also taken a vice-president position, and his strategic role will involve managing investments in China and overseas. The appointment comes at a time when JD.com is exploring offline opportunities, especially in logistics and advertising, having led a $142m round for public advertising network XinChao Media last month.
France-based private equity firm Cathay Capital hired Hu in 2015 and he stayed in a managing partner role for two years before taking the chairman role at an entity called CapHill Investments in 2017.
Hu had previously spent 10 years as managing director at asset management firm CDH Investments. He identified deals in sectors including consumer products, real estate, mining, manufacturing and pharmaceutical, and his investments included logistics firms Deppon and Yimidida.
JD.com said in a statement that Hu’s new remit “further strengthens the company’s deep bench of investment and strategy leadership for continued growth”.
Hu will report to chief strategy officer Jon Liao, who had been in charge of strategic investments on behalf of the firm, according to Reuters, which cited a person familiar with the matter.
Yuan Gao, who was promoted to head of strategic investment at JD.com’s financial services arm, JD Digits, in April this year, told Global Corporate Venturing he had been focusing on China-based deals while Ernest Fung, who left in the same month, had overseen international deals.
Photo of Jason Ningfeng Hu courtesy of LinkedIn.
