By MA Yue

Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao said on March 1 that its founder ZANG Yong had stepped down as CEO. He will now focus on the company’s long-term development.

Deputy CEO YANG Lijuan, 43, has taken over. LI Yu was named COO of mainland operations while WANG Jinping was made COO of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas.

Yang is a rags-to-riches success story, who began her career as a waitress, 27 years ago, and became manager of Haidilao’s first store in Sichuan.

The changes come after a bleak year of 2021. Haidilao expected to lose 4.5 billion yuan (US$710 million). The company expanded aggressively in 2020 but soon saw a serious decline in table turnover and revenue. The unwelcome numbers have been blamed on bad locations and poor organizational structure.