SmarTone on Wednesday announced that its long-time CEO Douglas Li has tendered his resignation.
Li, who is serving his second stint as chief executive of the Hong Kong mobile operator, will remain in his post until the end of August.
The company gave no real reason for Li’s departure, but insisted it does not come as a result of any disagreement with the board. It will make an announcement regarding his successor in due course.
"Mr. Li felt it was the right time to pass the baton to the next generation of leadership," said SmarTone chairman Raymond
Kwok.
Li was the founding chief executive of SmarTone in 1992 and held the position until 1996, when he left to head up a private equity firm. He rejoined SmarTone, again as CEO, in 2001 and has stayed in the role since then.
"Having been CEO for over 14 years this second time round, it is time to hand over to the next generation of leadership to take the company and the industry forward in the fast evolving mobile-first Internet," Li said.
SmarTone is one of four mobile network operators in Hong Kong. The operators together served 17.5 million customers as of January, according to regulator Ofta.
