ZTE USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s ZTE Corporation, today announced the appointment of Lixin Cheng to the role of president of the North American region and CEO of ZTE USA. He replaces Jiang Xiangyang, who, according to a company statement, is stepping down to spend more time with his family.
Cheng, who joins ZTE from ALA Group, is a former Ericsson CDMA business executive who brings 21 years of experience in the telecom industry. He will lead the ZTE USA executive team, with main offices in Richardson, Texas, while overseeing all areas of the company’s business in North America.
Cheng sits on the Board of Directors of the World Trade Center in San Diego and most recently founded ALA Group, where he provided consulting services to help technology companies increase penetration in the U.S. market. He also served as president of then start-up Axesstel from 2004 to 2006, where he increased the company’s sales from $4 million to more than $95 million in less than two years and played a critical role in Axesstel’s successful public listing on the American Stock Exchange in 2005.
Cheng also led the sales and supply team at Ericsson Panda Ltd in China from 1998 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he was director of sales at Ericsson Wireless, based in San Diego, where he was responsible for developing Ericsson’s CDMA business in various international markets.
“… I am confident we can continue to grow our business to a new level of success by bringing new, unique solutions to market, while localizing the team,” Cheng said in a statement.
At ZTE headquarters in Shenzhen, China, last week, executives stressed the importance of tapping local talent in the markets where it does business.
Jiang will continue working with ZTE Corporation’s management team operating out of the headquarters in Shenzhen.