Fang Hongbo: chairman and president of Midea Group

attributedRegistry data shown by a commercial company-data service record Guangdong Midea HVAC Equipment as an active limited company established on 25 September 2005, with unified social credit code 914406067811533917, registered and paid-in capital of RMB 500 million and former names 佛山市美的中央空调设备安装工程有限公司 and 佛山市顺德区美的机电设备安装有限公司. The service lists Midea Group (first recorded on 20 March 2016) and Foshan Midea Air-Conditioning Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. (10.00%, first recorded on 20 March 2016) as members, Guan Jinwei as legal representative, manager and director, Fang Hongbo as chairman and Zhong Zheng as a director. An online encyclopedia entry gives the members as Midea Group (90%) and Foshan Midea Air-Conditioning Industrial Investment (10%). ^{8 9}

qualification

Commercial data-service and encyclopedia listings without appointment dates; the encyclopedia gives the establishment date as 26 September 2005, matching Midea's prospectus.

attributedRegistry data shown by a commercial company-data service record Midea Zhilian (Shanghai) Supply Chain Technology Co., Ltd. (美的智联（上海）供应链科技有限公司) as an active single-shareholder limited company established on 29 September 2020, with unified social credit code 91310118MA1JNX7J15 and registered and paid-in capital of RMB 960 million, Midea Group as sole member, Xiao Mingguang as chairman, general manager and legal representative, and Zhao Wenxin and Zhong Zheng as directors. An online encyclopedia entry states that Fang Hongbo was legal representative at incorporation and that Xiao Mingguang replaced him in January 2021, when the registered capital rose from RMB 100 million to RMB 960 million. ^{10 11}

qualification

Data-service and encyclopedia listings; the encyclopedia gives the establishment date as 30 September 2020.

attributedA media report of December 2025 stated that at an analyst meeting in May 2025 Fang Hongbo, chairman and president of Midea Group, said that six or seven people were already able to succeed him at any time but that he could not name them and had not yet told the major shareholder. A media report of June 2024, noting that Fang had succeeded founder He Xiangjian as chairman and president in 2012, described vice president Wang Jianguo, then head of the smart home business group and international business, as considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Fang. ^{2 3 4}

qualification

Media accounts of a remark and of market opinion; none of the company filings reviewed designates a successor.

outcome

Midea's 2025 annual report records Wang Jianguo as executive president from 24 September 2025, the date on which his vice-presidency ended; the report does not describe the appointment as a succession arrangement.

attributedA business magazine reported in March 2025 that an internal Midea letter marked 'secret', titled 'Requirements on simplifying working methods' and issued by chairman and president Fang Hongbo, circulated outside the company on 22 January 2025, and that the system watermark on the leaked copy showed vice president Zhao Lei as its recipient. ^{5 4 6}

qualification

Media report. The report says Zhao Lei joined Midea in 2011, whereas the prospectus and the 2025 annual report give 2018.

response

Zhao Lei told the magazine on 13 March 2025 that he had posted a screenshot to a small group within his division and had not expected it to leak; the report presents the disclosure, on his account, as unintentional.

outcome

The magazine report states that the leak was closed with an internal notice by Midea Group criticising Zhao Lei. Midea's 2025 annual report (March 2026) and its 2026 interim report continue to list Zhao Lei as a vice president.