Hugo Barra is leaving Xiaomi to return to Silicon Valley

Xiaomi’s global head Hugo Barra is leaving the company.

In a Facebook post, Xiaomi global VP Hugo Barra announced that he was leaving the company to return to Silicon Valley. Barra left Google in 2013 to head up Xiaomi’s global unit, and in the three years since, he was instrumental in Xiaomi’s growth overseas. The company is the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in India, crossing $1 billion in revenue last year, and has a foothold in key Asian markets, including Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Barra mentioned that he will stay on in Beijing until February, following which he will take some time off before “embarking on a new adventure back in Silicon Valley.”

Commenting on the post, Xiaomi co-founder and president Bin Lin thanked Barra for his contributions, and said that Xiaomi’s current SVP Xiang Wang will lead the company’s global efforts:

When Hugo joined us 3.5 years ago, we started an amazing adventure to turn Xiaomi into a global player. We have come a long way since, and I couldn’t thank him enough for contributing so much to Xiaomi’s journey. As much as we would love to have Hugo stay with us in Beijing for a much longer time, we understand his personal challenges and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. I’m also looking forward to working closely with him in his new role as advisor to Xiaomi.

Xiang Wang, Xiaomi Senior Vice President, will lead our entire global efforts moving forward. We have ambitious expansion plans for 2017 and are confident in Xiang’s leadership to take our global business to even greater heights!

As the face of Xiaomi in India and other Asian markets, Barra’s enthusiasm and energy often carried the brand forward, and his absence will be sorely missed. That said, we’re excited to see what he’ll be working on next.