Meituan Appoints Two Young Leaders to Strengthen Future Leadership

On October 21, Meituan announced that it has elevated two young leaders—Qiu Guangyu, who oversees international operations, and Xiao Fei, responsible for software and hardware services—to its top decision-making group, the S-team. This move is intended to speed up the development of its next-generation leadership team.

The leadership change is a standard personnel update and does not signify any structural overhaul, according to an internal email from the CEO. “We are excited to see how their fresh perspectives and insights will drive further success and growth,” he stated.

The S-team, which guides the company’s strategic planning and talent decisions, previously included Wang Xing along with seven senior vice presidents, such as co-founder Mu Rongjun, CFO Chen Shaohui, and Wang Puzhong, who leads core local businesses. Prior to this change, Wang Xing had launched a leadership development initiative, especially after senior leaders Wang Huiwen and Liu Lin scaled back their roles in daily operations in early 2020.

In the past five years, nearly ten executives at the vice president level or higher have been promoted within the company, most of them born in the 1980s, reflecting the company’s focus on cultivating young talent.

Qiu Guangyu joined in May 2022 to lead the company’s expansion overseas. Before that, he served as COO of Didi Chuxing’s international division, where he played a key part in Didi’s acquisition of Brazilian mobility service platform 99. Under his leadership, the company launched its international delivery platform, Keeta, in Hong Kong in May 2023, followed by expansion into the Middle East and Brazil this year to compete with local players like Didi’s 99 Foods. Qiu has indicated plans to invest around USD 1 billion over the next five years in Keeta’s growth in Brazil, focusing on digital infrastructure, marketing, and a network of more than 100,000 riders.

Xiao Fei has been with the company since February 2014, initially as a product manager before ascending to vice president. Since April, he has managed the software and hardware services segments, including offerings like SaaS, shared bicycles, and shared power banks.