Rumor: Three Netease Portal Executives Resign
China Business News, 7/11/12
According to industry rumor, Chen Mengcang, deputy chief editor of Netease's (Nasdaq: NTES) portal, resigned his position at the Chinese internet company recently, as did Netease's video center director Zeng Li and chief news editor Chen Ziyu. Chen Mengcang has confirmed reports of his resignation.
Seven executives at the deputy chief editor level and higher have resigned from Netease over a less than two-year period. Sources inside the company say the departures are related to Netease's incentive system: since 2004, Netease has offered no stock options as incentives for senior portal executives.
A senior portal executive at Netease said the company's efforts to spin off its portal business for an independent IPO were continuing unabated, adding that CEO William Ding's attitude toward the spin-off is not negative, as has been reported in the media.
According to an industry source, Netease's plan to spin off its portal business includes developing new-media concepts integrating portal resources and mobile products with properties including Netease's online dictionary Youdao.com and its Hangzhou R&D center.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Netease Managing Editor Resigns," MD 6/13/12 issue.
Keywords: HR Chen Mengcang Zeng Li Chen Ziyu William Ding Netease Internet IPO portal spin-off NTES