Shanghai (ZXZC)- On Thursday, Xpeng Motor, a Chinese electric vehicle startup, announced that Brian Gu (Hongdi Gu), chairman of Asia Pacific investment banking of JP Morgan, will officially join the startup as vice chairman and president, reporting directly to He Xiaopeng, founder and chairman of Xpeng.

The new vice chairman will take charge of the startup’s work in such areas as global strategy, finance, fund raising, international cooperation and M&A, according to Xpeng.

Joining JP Morgan in 2004, Brian was previously co-head of M&A, telecommunications, media and technology and healthcare and is a member of JP Morgan’s global strategy advisory committee. In the future, Brian will continue to be senior strategic consultant of JP Morgan.

As a key executive of JP Morgan’s Asia-Pacific business, Brian played a crucial role in the IPO of Alibaba and had deep involvement in the fundraising, M&A and restructuring transaction of many companies such as Xiaomi, Ctrip, and Baidu.

Strong financial capacity, independent innovation ability and high-quality production are crucial for internet companies to manufacture vehicles, He Xiaopeng said. "The joining of Brian will enhance Xpeng’s management team a formidable combination in internet, fundraising and strategic integration and vehicle manufacturing”, the founder added.

On January 29, Xpeng announced to start B-round fundraising of RMB 2.2 billion. After the round, the cumulative fund the company has received will be up to RMB 5 billion.