Huawei’s Ryan Ding Yun who was at the helm of the company’s most profitable business is dead from a sudden illness in the wee hours of Friday at the age of 53.
He got promoted to the position of president of the enterprise business group while also serving as president of the carrier business group.
This placed him in control of two major Huawei businesses among the company’s three. Ding was born in the year 1969 and held a master’s degree from the Southeast University in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
He then joined the Chinese tech giant in 1996 where he headed a number of important departments including the global solution sales and marketing department.
The business group was Huawei’s top earner last year generating a whopping US$39.5 billion (CNY281.4 billion) which was roughly 44% of the company’s total revenue.
Ding also served as deputy chairman of Huawei’s supervisory board.
Huawei credited him for having “worked diligently at Huawei for 26 years and made significant contributions to the company’s growth and development”. It asked its employees to focus on work and “turn grief into strength”.
However, Huawei didn’t give details about the cause of Ding’s death but local media reported he had a fatal heart arrest while he took part in a 28km marathon.
Ding was an enthusiastic long-distance runner who spent almost all of his free time running, according to anonymous sources cited by one report.
Ding led Huawei’s enterprise and carrier business groups at a time when US sanctions have effectively crippled the company’s consumer business, pushing the once-leading smartphone seller to boost other revenue sources.
His last public appearance was in September at the Huawei Connect 2022 event where the company unveils its new array of products for the year.
Ding delivered a live-streamed speech where he demonstrated Huawei’s role in driving innovation while also showcasing bespoke client solutions.