Muralikrishnan B Steps Down as President of Xiaomi

Xiaomi President Muralikrishnan B has resigned from his leadership position at the leading smartphone brand as it seeks to regain its previous top rank in the Indian smartphone market.

According to sources, Muralikrishnan has left the company to pursue his academic goals, pursuing a doctorate at the Indian School of Business. He will take six months of gardening leave after his departure.

Notably, Muralikrishnan's departure comes two months after the company appointed former Motorola and Lenovo managing director Sudhin Mathur as chief operating officer. Mathur is in charge of driving the company's vision, setting a roadmap for growth and maintaining the current momentum.

Alvin Tse, who was appointed general manager of India business in 2022, is overseeing Indian operations from China, sources said. "Alvin will continue to be the head of India and Sudhin Mathur will now be the new face of the company. Alvin joins Mathur to lead the operations."

Muralikrishnan, a former Jabong executive, joined Xiaomi in 2018 as chief operating officer under Manu Kumar Jain, who was then the head of Xiaomi India. Initially, he focused on expanding the company's offline retail network. He was later promoted to oversee Xiaomi's operations, service, public affairs and strategic initiatives.

China's Xiaomi lost its top spot in the fourth quarter of 2022 after leading in the last 20 quarters. The company faced tough competition from South Korea's Samsung and other Chinese brands like BBK Group, Oppo, Vivo and Realme.

The Chinese smartphone maker, which faced challenges due to slow growth in India and a confrontation with the government, has now moved to the second spot in terms of units shipped during the July-September quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. The company's shipments grew 3 per cent over the previous year, thanks to its balanced approach to both offline and online retail channels.

However, the company's sub-brand Poco is currently in a dispute with offline retailers who have accused it of anti-competitive practices resulting in financial losses to retailers and the government.