Beijing (ZXZC)- Li Xiang, the founder and CEO of Li Auto, will no longer serve as independent director of China’s leading navigation company NavInfo, replaced by Wang Xiaochuan, the founder of named search engine Sogou, according to corporate database, Qichacha.

Photo credit: NavInfo

On August 26th, NavInfo issued an announcement regarding Li Xiang’s letter of resignation.

The announcement specified that Li Xiang asked to be removed from the independent director position and the fifth board of directors’ nomination committee due to personal reasons, responsible for nominating members, compensations, and assessing committee members. After his resignation, Li would no longer be a part of the company. Upon the announcement, Li Xiang did not hold any share of the company.

After Li Xiang’s exit, the remaining number of independent directors on NavInfo’s board did not meet the required one-third proportion of board members. Therefore, Li Xiang will continue to perform the independent director’s liabilities under the company protocol while the board searches for his succession.

On December 15th, NavInfo has completed its registration changes, with Li Xiang officially removed from the independent director position and Wang Xiaochuan stepped in. In the meantime, the company’s registered capital was increased from RMB2.269 billion to RMB2.375 billion.