Baidu Capital, the corporate venturing arm of China-based internet group Baidu, has hired Zhang Jinling from smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi to be its chief financial officer, China Money Network reported yesterday.
Zhang, who was a vice-president at Xiaomi, is taking a dual role at Baidu as CFO of both Baidu Capital and the corporate’s online food delivery subsidiary, Baidu Waimai, according to Chinese media reports.
Baidu formed Baidu Capital in October and is committing $3bn to the venture in a bid to match local rivals Alibaba and Tencent, both of which have made extensive corporate venturing investments.
Zhang joined Xiaomi in 2013 to head its finance and investment activities. She had previously been CFO of Asia Pacific, Greater China and Japan for networking equipment producer Cisco and head of global finance operations for data storage technology provider Seagate.
The appointment of Zhang follows the hiring of Wenjie Wu as Baidu Capital’s first managing partner in November 2016. Baidu Capital, which is chaired by Baidu chairman Robin Li, plans to appoint either one or two more managing partners.
– Photo of Zhang Jinling courtesy of Xiaomi