Chinese tech giant Meituan has announced that senior vice president Zhang Chuan—one of its top-ranking and most product-focused leaders—will step down from day-to-day operations and take on an advisory role from May.

The move, signaling a strategic shift in leadership, was revealed in an internal letter from founder and CEO Wang Xing on April 3.

Zhang, who joined Meituan in early 2017, played a central role in scaling key businesses including Dianping, SaaS, and other core operations.

As part of the leadership reshuffle, Meituan is also reorganizing several business units. The Dianping division will be merged into the company’s Core Local Commerce unit. Meanwhile, former SaaS head Xiao Fei has been appointed to lead a newly formed software and hardware services unit.

The restructuring comes as Meituan seeks to streamline operations and prepare for the next phase of growth, including a stronger international push.

Recent Meituan developments