Ctrip CEO changes: Liang Jianzhang steps down and returns to work?

Ctrip CEO changes coach: Liang Jianzhang steps down and returns to work?

Introduction: After Liang Jianzhang returned to Ctrip in 2013, he reversed the situation for Ctrip, which was once in decline, and successively defeated powerful competitors eLong and Qunar, and combined the resources of the two companies. All included in their territory. As a result, Liang Jianzhang has been recognized as a legend and even the soul of Ctrip.

Ctrip’s CEO position has been changed. This means that Ctrip’s core figure Liang Jianzhang really plans to retire?

On November 16, Ctrip Travel Network (referred to as Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) announced the appointment of Sun Jie as chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately. Sun Jie will also join the company's board of directors.

Ctrip also announced that Mr. Liang Jianzhang, Chairman of Ctrip’s Board of Directors and former CEO, will serve as Chairman of the Executive Board. Several Ctrip insiders emphasized to reporters from The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that this change in management personnel does not mean that Liang Jianzhang intends to leave or "let go".

However, given that Liang Jianzhang once left Ctrip due to lack of competitors, it is difficult to say whether Liang Jianzhang intends to retire again this time.

However, Ctrip’s official information shows that in the future, Liang Jianzhang will focus on the company’s innovation, internationalization, technology, investment and strategic alliances. Obviously, these five areas are still the "vital gate" of Ctrip.

Liang Jianzhang, who handed over the CEO's "handsome seal", was not so much about stepping down and returning home, but more about strategizing behind the scenes.

New CEO Sun Jie has worked for Ctrip for 12 years

Ctrip’s new CEO Sun Jie graduated from the Law Department of Peking University and later studied at the University of Florida Business School. She joined Ctrip in 2005 and has held various management positions:

Sun Jie has served as the company's chief operating officer since May 2012, and has concurrently served as the company's co-president since March 2015; in 2005 He served as chief financial officer from 2012 to 2012. He is highly regarded for his extremely rich experience in online travel operations and management, investment and acquisitions, and corporate financial operations management. During Sun Jie's tenure as CFO, she was named the Best CFO by Institutional Investor and CFO World respectively.

Before joining Ctrip, Sun Jie worked for Applied Materials Inc. in the United States since 1997, serving as the head of the department reporting to the U.S. Federal Securities and Exchange Commission and external reports. Prior to that, she worked in Silicon Valley, California for five years as an audit manager at KPMG. She is a certified public accountant with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a certified public accountant in the state of California.

Both Sun Jie and Liang Jianzhang mentioned: ***Work together?

When the news came out that the CEO of Ctrip would be replaced by this handsome woman, the former CEO Liang Jianzhang's movements have also attracted special attention from the industry.

Especially in 2013, after Liang Jianzhang returned to Ctrip, he reversed the situation for Ctrip, which was once in decline, and successively defeated powerful competitors eLong and Qunar, and integrated the resources of the two companies. own territory. As a result, Liang Jianzhang has been recognized as a legend and even the soul of Ctrip.

After news of Ctrip’s CEO change came out, Liang Jianzhang’s departure was considered by the industry to be the key to Ctrip’s future development and even changes in the online tourism industry. Some people in the tourism industry even lamented that there is one less competitor in the future.

However, judging from the information currently released by Ctrip and the information disclosed by many Ctrip insiders, Liang Jianzhang does not seem to have any intention of leaving or letting go. It also seems a bit premature to judge that competitors will leave.

When talking about Sun Jie’s promotion, Liang Jianzhang said: “I have full confidence in her as CEO. We will work together and work with the team to bring Ctrip to a new level. Sun Jie herself said: "In the future, James and I will continue to work together to bring Ctrip to new heights." ?

Obviously, both Liang Jianzhang and Sun Jie mentioned the term "*** work together".

Liang Jianzhang’s future focus area will still be Ctrip’s Mingmen location

Regarding Liang Jianzhang’s future trends, Ctrip announced that Liang Jianzhang will serve as chairman of the executive board and focus on the company’s innovation, Internationalization, technology, investment and strategic alliances.

These areas of focus are completely consistent with Ctrip’s layout in recent years.

During his tenure at Ctrip, Liang Jianzhang’s emphasis on innovation has always been talked about in the industry.

An OTA (online travel agency) industry insider revealed to The Paper that Liang Jianzhang attaches great importance to innovation, and innovation is even a mandatory assessment for each business department of Ctrip. If the executive of a certain business department does not innovate, he will have to Worried about whether I will be laid off soon.

Ctrip has also established its own innovation factory. Just a few days ago, it just hatched its first outbound travel innovation project? Carpooling Travel?.

In terms of internationalization, in 2015, Ctrip established travel agencies in Japan and South Korea; in early 2016, it invested in Indian OTA giant MakeMyTrip; in October 2016, Ctrip announced the completion of two major local travel agencies in North America? The United States Strategic investments in Seagull Holidays, the largest travel agency in the West, and Zongheng Travel, the largest travel agency in the eastern United States.

In terms of investment and strategic alliances, Ctrip has made frequent arrangements in recent years. In addition to successfully acquiring Qunar and Elong, the other two major competitors in the online tourism industry, Tuniu and Tongcheng, have invested in Among them, Ctrip’s name is also included.

Another thing worth noting is that he has participated in the privatization of eLong and Qunar, and has appeared in private equity funds Ocean in the equity structure of New OTC companies Century Mingde and Zhonghui Information invested by Ctrip. Imagination L.P, its parent company is Ocean Management Limited, whose Chinese name is "Ocean Management Co., Ltd.". Ctrip is one of the investors of the Ocean Imagination L.P fund, and Liang Jianzhang is a director of the board of directors and a member of the investment committee of the company to which Ocean Imagination L.P belongs. The word "Ocean" is in line with Ctrip's international strategy.

Obviously, the five areas that Liang Jianzhang will focus on in the future - innovation, internationalization, technology, investment and strategic alliances - are still the "vital gate" of Ctrip. Handing over the commander's seal does not necessarily mean that one will not listen to politics behind the curtain.

Does Liang Jianzhang, who has left Ctrip once, feel that he has no competitors again?

However, judging from Liang Jianzhang’s experience, it is precisely because he left Ctrip that this time the CEO changed. Shuai Fang seemed confused.

In 1999, Liang Jianzhang founded Ctrip with Ji Qi, Shen Nanpeng, and Fan Min; in 2000, Liang Jianzhang became Ctrip CEO.

In 2006, Liang Jianzhang resigned as CEO of Ctrip and went to study in the United States. At that time, Ctrip had already formed a business structure with three major businesses: hotels, air tickets and independent travel product bookings as its main sources of income. Liang Jianzhang's resignation was considered to be due to the lack of competitors.

After Liang Jianzhang left, Ctrip was in a state of decline. The blows from competitors such as eLong and Qunar once put Ctrip under considerable pressure. In 2013, Liang Jianzhang returned to Ctrip, and the situation turned again. Not only did he successfully defeat eLong and Qunar, but he also integrated all their resources to form a larger "Ctrip system".

Today, Ctrip’s position as the boss of the online tourism industry has become increasingly solid, while Liang Jianzhang himself seems to be more focused on research on population issues that are not directly related to his career. So, has Liang Jianzhang started to seek defeat alone? Generally, he feels lonely without competitors and intends to leave?

But in fact, it is not necessarily the case that Ctrip has no competitors.

On the one hand, old rival Tuniu has ranked first in the market share of online leisure travel, and is launching an offensive in business areas such as finance, air tickets and hotels; on the other hand, Ctrip and Xinmei Dajiu Travel have The battle is becoming increasingly fierce; moreover, Fliggy, who is the biological child of Alibaba, is also eyeing the big cake of online travel?

Obviously, this time, Liang Jianzhang has not yet reached the stage of "Dugu Qiu". situation. So, it remains to be determined whether Liang Jianzhang, who handed over his CEO "Shuai Yin", intends to step down and return to work, or whether he is strategizing and seizing the next trend.

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