Xiaomi India Announces Leadership Rejig, Appoints Alvin Tse General Manager for India

Xiaomi India has appointed Alvin Tse as General Manager for its operations in the country, the company announced on Friday. Tse’s appointment follows the elevation of Manu Jain to Group Vice President at Xiaomi last year, and comes after recent legal challenges faced by the company in the country including the investigation of its business practices. The company also announced that Anuj Sharma, who moved to Poco over two years ago, will join Xiaomi India again as Chief Marketing Officer.

As part of the organisational changes announced by the company, Alvin Tse has been appointed General Manager for Xiaomi India. The former General Manager of Xiaomi Indonesia, Tse previously helped the company expand into global markets, and is both a Xiaomi Global founding team member and Poco founding member.

According to the firm, Tse will take over the reins from Muralikrishnan B, Chief Operating Officer; Raghu Reddy, Chief Business Officer, and Sameer BS Rao, Chief Financial Officer, who were at the helm at Xiaomi India since Manu Jain was elevated to Group Vice President last year.

The company also announced that Anuj Sharma will rejoin Xiaomi India as Chief Marketing Officer, handling the company’s overall brand and marketing strategy. Sharma previously moved to spinoff brand Poco as Country Director over two years ago.

The changes to Xiaomi India’s organisation come amid legal challenges faced by the company in the country. Earlier in January, the company was asked by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to pay $84.5 million (roughly Rs. 660 crore) for allegedly evading import taxes. Income tax officials also froze $478 million (roughly Rs. 3,700 crore) worth of deposits of the company in local banks, according to a report.

Meanwhile, the company also successfully challenged another block on $725 million (roughly Rs. 5,600 crore) of its funds by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged illegal foreign remittances. A court filing by the company alleged that its top executives had faced “physical violence” threats and coercion by the ED — these claims were refuted by the investigating agency, while China’s foreign ministry asked the government to ensure Chinese companies were not discriminated against.