This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on March 1, 2022.
On March 1, 2022, Haidilao announced a management reshuffle: Yang Lijuan, then deputy CEO and COO, was appointed CEO. Zhang Yong, the company’s chairman and former CEO, remained chairman and executive director.
The company also split operating leadership by geography. Li Yu became COO for mainland China, while Wang Jinping became COO for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas markets.
Yang Lijuan was 43 at the time of the announcement and served as an executive director of the company. She had previously been deputy CEO and COO.
Her Haidilao career began early. From June 1997 to March 2001, she served as a manager at Sichuan Haidilao Catering Co., Ltd. From April 2001, she was a director of Sichuan Haidilao, and in January 2018 she was redesignated as a non-executive director of that entity.
As one of Haidilao’s earliest employees, Yang’s trajectory was notable: she moved from frontline service work to the CEO role.
As of the announcement, Yang held 179.7 million company shares, including 1.9875 million unvested award shares granted under the company’s share award plan. Her annual director remuneration was RMB 1.5 million, and her annual CEO salary was RMB 2.7 million, plus discretionary performance bonus and other benefits.
Both newly named regional COOs were born in the 1980s.
Zhang Yong had publicly indicated a desire to step back before this appointment. In April 2020, he told employees through an internal email that he planned to retire within 10 to 15 years. Some online readers considered the timeline unusually early, but Zhang’s stated view was that early planning would make the process calmer.
In August 2021, Haidilao announced another board change. Shu Ping resigned as non-executive director and audit committee member, while Shi Yonghong resigned as executive director. Yang Lijuan, Li Peng, Yang Hua, Liu Linyi, Li Yu, Song Qing and Yang Li were appointed executive directors. Dr. Ma Weihua and Wu Xiaoguang, together with the new executive directors, were also appointed independent non-executive directors as stated in the original article. Cai Xinmin was appointed as an audit committee member. Yang Lijuan was also appointed deputy CEO.
On February 21, 2022, Haidilao issued a profit warning. It expected 2021 revenue to exceed RMB 40 billion, up more than 40% year on year. At the same time, it expected a net loss of roughly RMB 3.8 billion to RMB 4.5 billion for 2021.
The expected loss was mainly attributed to one-off losses and impairment losses totaling about RMB 3.3 billion to RMB 3.9 billion, driven by the closure of more than 300 restaurants in 2021 and weaker restaurant operating performance.
In November 2021, Haidilao said it would gradually close around 300 underperforming stores by December 31, 2021. Some stores would be temporarily rested and potentially reopened later, with the rest period capped at two years. To improve operating performance, Haidilao launched the “Woodpecker Plan,” led by Yang Lijuan.
The article noted that Haidilao’s market value had fallen from a peak of more than HKD 400 billion to HKD 100.6 billion, and raised the question of whether Yang Lijuan could turn the business around as CEO.
Zhang Yong’s April 27, 2020 internal letter framed Haidilao’s succession plan as a long-term process. He told employees that his retirement was both “good news” and “bad news”: good because they would no longer need to worry about angry calls from him, and bad because the plan would take at least 10 years and no more than 15 years to complete.
He said nearly everyone would have the opportunity to participate in the leadership succession plan, with three exceptions: Shi Yonghong, Gou Yiqun and Yang Xiaoli. His stated reason, in a humorous tone, was that they were “too expensive” and not cost-effective for a future board.
Zhang recalled when he first met them: Shi Yonghong was 15 in 1985, Yang Xiaoli was 17 in 1995, and Gou Yiqun was 27 in 1999. He wrote that the group remained clear-minded and energetic, but had become concerned over the previous two years that their learning ability might not keep pace with the company’s development, or that they might become obstacles to its growth.
The succession plan, as Zhang described it, aimed to find a leader who loved Haidilao, understood the business deeply and could read human nature.
The letter also explained an internal talent mechanism. Around October 2019, Haidilao had capped income for leaders at the “family head” level and above. To earn more, senior managers had two routes: take on unfamiliar work such as finance, new technology or procurement, or start an internal venture. These new roles would generate points, and when promotions were considered, leaders with the highest points would be shortlisted and assessed by senior managers.
Zhang stressed that points alone would not guarantee promotion. The final choice would depend on long-term observation, including character and conduct. He, Shi Yonghong, Yang Xiaoli and Gou Yiqun would observe and judge over 10 years, hoping to select a leader who loved Haidilao, knew the business and understood people.
He added that the plan covered everyone, including finance managers, technology engineers and ordinary branch-company employees, though the details would vary.
Zhang closed the letter by imagining a retirement dinner 10 years later if Haidilao still existed and if a successor had been chosen. In his characteristically self-deprecating style, he said he would want a high-profile farewell, not at Haidilao, but over Sichuan food and stir-fry dishes. He joked that he would complain to the server that the food and service were not as good as before, then later apologize, drink heavily, and end the dinner not by saying it was over, but by saying, “meeting adjourned.”
Note: Forward-looking plans, loss estimates, store-closure timelines, remuneration, shareholding and market-cap figures are historical and reflect the article’s 2022 context.