Despite being sacked in 2020, the chairman and CEO of Arm China, who refused to relinquish his renowned tech leadership job, may have finally been pushed out the door. According to Reuters, Allen Wu has been replaced and all Chinese legal proceedings have been completed.
The replacement of Arm China’s CEO appears to be a hot topic right now. When Arm went to court on Wednesday to receive new corporate registration documents and a new seal (also known as a chop), we reported that Allen Wu’s departure was impending. Mr. Wu had adamantly refused to relinquish these vital emblems of Chinese company ownership.
Mr. Wu claimed there were problems in the business registration procedure through which new documents and a new seal were produced earlier today, when the wheels of business law appeared to be about to roll over him. He also wrote a letter on the WeChat page of Arm China. Even though the court issued paperwork and a seal, the group would continue with Wu as the leader, according to this letter, which was supposedly signed by 430 Arm China staff.
An Arm spokeswoman, on the other hand, stated that all Chinese laws had been strictly obeyed, citing a new seal and company license issued by Chinese governmental authorities in Shenzhen. According to an Arm Ltd spokeswoman, “the relevant agency in Shenzhen has registered Dr. Liu as the company’s legal representative and general manager, and has duly issued Dr. Liu a new chop and business license.”
Dr. Renchen Liu is a vice-dean of Tsinghua University’s Research Institute in Shenzhen. Liu will join Eric Chen, a managing partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund, as co-CEO of Arm China.
Wu’s attempts to retain his throne appear to be far from finished, but this could be a huge step forward for Softbank/Arm Ltd in regaining control of its Chinese joint venture.
Wu has acted in unusual ways for a high-ranking tech executive in the past. When Arm tried to terminate him, for example, he stationed security guards at the Arm China headquarters to prevent outside executives from accessing the company. He was also suspected of putting up an investment entity in China that would compete with Arm’s business. Wu’s renegade Arm China unit recently announced its independence from Arm Ltd and boasted of having its own China R&D team of 400+ scientists.
If Softbank’s China JV troubles are fully resolved, it must be a relief. Arm China, for example, had previously resisted independent auditing, which was enough to derail the disastrous Nvidia contract. With Softbank preparing the Arm IPO, Arm China CEOs working together with the parent business should make the process go as smoothly as possible.
We don’t know how Softbank and Arm Ltd managed the Chinese authorities’ cooperation in obtaining the new registration and seal. According to the Financial Times, it may have been supported by Arm Ltd commencing a transfer of its shares in the China unit.
