Manu Jain exits Xiaomi Group

“After nine years, I am moving on from the Xiaomi Group. I feel confident that now is the right time, as we have strong leadership teams across the world,” Jain wrote announcing his exit.

Jain was briefly present on stage at a recent launch event of the company in New Delhi, after a long hiatus when he moved to Dubai in July 2021 to take on a global role as Vice President, Xiaomi International looking after strategies and growth.

“In a short span of 7 years at Xiaomi India, Manu Kumar Jain played an instrumental role in the company’s success leading it to be India’s most loved and trusted brand,” Xiaomi said in a statement. “We would like to thank him for his valuable contribution to the business, and the smartphone industry in India and wish him success in his future endeavors and pursuits.”

Jain was one of the earliest employees of Xiaomi India, joining the company after co-founding Jabong. “We started as a one-person startup, 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 wrote in his farewell post.

Under Jain, Xiaomi has been the top smartphone brand in India since 2017, with investment from the Tata Group. The company has also been a catalyst for Make in India with 100% of its smartphones and TVs being manufactured locally, Jain said.

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Jain has been at the center of investigations that has plagued the company since the past year. The Enforcement Directorate allegedly interrogated Jain during its course of investigation against Xiaomi’s alleged violation of the foreign exchange rules. In the case filed by Xiaomi contesting a seizure order by the ED, the company alleged that top executives, including Jain, faced threats of physical violence and coercion during questioning by the agency.Following Jain’s step down from India operations, Xiaomi India has seen a long line of exits from the leadership. The company’s Chief Business Officer, Raghu Reddy, resigned in December, followed by General Manager of Marketing, Sumit Sunal in January. Earlier, the company’s director of offline sales, Sunil Baby had resigned in May to join Unacademy.

In his farewell post, Jain announced that he will be taking some time-off, before taking up his next professional challenge. “I am 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 startup community, twice. I hope to return to it with another fulfilling challenge,” he wrote.