Manu Jain Quits Xiaomi As Chinese Firm Battles Legal Challenges In India

Manu Jain, global vice president of smartphone maker Xiaomi, has resigned after a nine-year stint at the Chinese company.

“After nine years, I am moving on from Xiaomi Group. I feel confident that now is the right time, as we have strong leadership teams across the world. I wish the Xiaomi teams globally all the best and hope they achieve even greater success,” Jain said in a statement on social media.

Jain said he would be “taking some time off” for the next few months. “I am a builder at heart and would love to build something new, ideally in a new industry. I am proud of having been a small part of the ever-growing start-up community, twice. I hope to return to it with another fulfilling challenge.”

Jain resigned amid a legal tussle between Xiaomi and the Enforcement Directorate, India’s financial crime-fighting agency, over alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation by the firm.

Jain, who co-founded e-commerce platform Jabong in 2013, was Xiaomi India’s managing director from 2014 to 2017. After that, he was appointed the company’s president for the Indian subcontinent and later the global vice president.

“The first few years were full of ups and downs. We started as a one-person start-up, working from a small little office. We were the smallest amongst the hundreds of smartphone brands, that too with limited resources and no prior relevant industry experience. But due to the efforts of a fantastic team, we were able to build one of the most loved brands in the country,” Jain said.

Xiaomi's expansion generated more than 50,000 jobs in India, he claimed.