In a surprise move after the launch of Redmi Note 4 in India, Xiaomi’s Global VP Hugo Barra has announced that he is leaving the company after three and a half years of service. Barra took to Facebook and shared the information via a detailed post. In his post, Barra revealed the progress of Xiaomi over the last few years both globally and in India. He also specially thanked the management including the whole team in India. He will be joining an undisclosed company based in Silicon Valley.
According to industry analysts, Barra played a pivotal role in the expansion of the company’s US market. Recently, the company had participated in the CES 2017. His speeches during launch events were appreciated by many tech enthusiasts due to his character, leadership, and style. We will miss his photos with Xiaomi products before, after and during the launch events.
During the tenure of Barra, Xiaomi hit major milestones such as increased competition and launch of several successful products ranging from Redmi Note 3, Redmi Note 4, Mi Air Purifier and Mi Vacuum cleaner. It needs to be seen as to how the company progress without Barra. Meanwhile, Barra will migrate to Silicon Valley to take up a new adventure in late February.
We never thought Redmi Note 4 will be Hugo Barra’s last launch event
He started the post by thanking 3.5 years with not only Xiaomi but also Mi Fans. He added that Lei Jun and Bin Lin came to me nearly four years ago with the opportunity to help turn a young rockstar startup into a global player. He added that the jon was the greatest and most challenging adventure of my life. Barra said that he moved to Beijing, which is nearly 6500 miles out of his comfort zone in Silicon Valley, to build from scratch a startup team within a bigger startup.
We turned India from a dream into Xiaomi’s largest international market with $1 billion in annual revenues, faster than any company in India’s history. We expanded into Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and more recently 20 other markets including Russia, Mexico, and Poland. We teamed up with Google to launch our first official product in the US, and with our successful debut at CES 2017 – where we won 3 prestigious awards – the world now sees that Xiaomi is a global player changing the tech industry through our simple promise of bringing innovation to everyone.
Even though Barra is leaving the company, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has requested his to take up the role of advisor to Xiaomi indefinitely. He also said that the Jun has been very supportive of my transition.
Towards the end of his Facebook post, Barra thanked all his colleagues in Beijing and Bangalore.
I will be watching diligently from the sidelines and rooting for you guys all the way! And, of course, a very special shout-out to all our Mi fans around the world, who have won my heart for life!
Since the Spring Festival brings new beginnings, Barra will relocate to his new adventure after Chinese New Year. Barra added that he require much-needed time off before embarking on a new adventure back in Silicon Valley.
Prior to joining Xiaomi, Barra had worked with Google as the Vice President of Product Management for Android. He joined Xiaomi in August 2013 and was the prime face during the launch events both globally and India.
