Xiaomi’s VP, Hugo Barra is leaving the company after working with it for 3.5 years. In a Facebook post, Hugo Barra announced his decision to leave the company and go back to the Silicon Valley. At the moment it is not clear what his future plans are, but this is what he had to say:
I’ve realized is that the last few years of living in such a singular environment have taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health. My friends, what I consider to be my home, and my life are back in Silicon Valley, which is also much closer to my family. Seeing how much I’ve left behind these past few years, it is clear to me that the time has come to return.
Xiaomi hired Hugo Barra to help with the company’s expansion plan internationally as he had an extensive experience being the Head of Mobile Divisions at Google. Since joining Xiaomi, he has been the face of company jetting for the product promotions and working on introducing it in different markets. Xiaomi has been trying to dip its toes in the USA, but that hasn’t happened yet.
There is no doubt the Hugo Barra has raised the company’s profile from being a mere iPhone copycat to a company that experiments and innovates with its products. Xiaomi MI Mix is a stunning example of such effort. Hugo Barra is confident about Xiomi’s future as he claims ‘Xiaomi is a global player changing the tech industry through our simple promise of bringing innovation to everyone’.
He will be succeeded by Xiaomi Senior Vice President Xiang Wang will be taking his place and working on improving Xiaomi’s international presence. The company will be focusing on India, as that is one of their strongest markets and in addition maybe they will be present at the MWC 2017 like they took center stage at the CES 2017.
