Ping An Appoints New Co-Chief Executive

Editorial Staff

20 January 2024

, the Chinese insurance group that has tussled with HSBC in a bid to break the bank up, said it has appointed Michael Guo Xiaotao – current chief human resources officer – as its co-chief executive. The appointment takes effect immediately.

Simultaneously, the firm has accepted Jessica Tan’s resignation as co-CEO and as executive vice president for “personal and family reasons,” according to a statement this week.

Tan will continue to work at Ping An until 31 December.

Guo joined Ping An Group in September 2019, serving in a number of roles. Prior to joining Ping An, Guo was a global partner and managing director at Boston Consulting.

Ping An has made waves by its calls on HSBC to be broken up, unlocking the value it says is being hampered by its current structure. (Ping An owns a stake in the UK/Hong Kong-listed lender.) The firm has been building a stake in the lender since 2017. The group first proposed to split off HSBC’s Asian operations in April 2022. HSBC has rebuffed such calls, saying that its global model and integrated structure would make a breakup a damaging and unwise move. Recent strong financial results at HSBC appear to have cooled Ping An’s demands.