Recently, the Chinese smartphone market has seen some of its major players like Lenovo and Huawei seek to expand their market on an international level. In keeping with that trend, popular Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced on Thursday that it had hired away a top executive from Google in order to lead its international expansion plans.
The executive is Hugo Barra, one of the highest-profile Westerners to join a Chinese technology company, according to analysts. During his time at Google he has served as vice president of the Android mobile operating system, a system that the majority of smartphones in Chine operate off of.
In a statement on his Google+ Barra confirmed the news saying:
"In a few weeks, I'll be joining the Xiaomi team in China to help them expand their incredible product portfolio and business globally - as Vice President, Xiaomi Global. I'm really looking forward to this new challenge, and am particularly excited about the opportunity to continue to help drive the Android ecosystem."
Xiaomi controlled five percent of the smartphone market in Chine during the second quarter according to analysts research firm Canalys, according to the New York Times. Well behind the leader Samsung, which had 18 percent of the share but above Apple's 4.8 percent. A main selling point for the company has been its price. The Xiaomi models sell for anywhere between $180 and $300. With phones less than half the price of competing smartphone makers, Xiaomi has made a name for itself in the Chinese market, the hope is that buzz will translate over to the international market with the help of Barra.
Google, the company that will be losing Barra, has taken the news in stride so far. In a statement released on the subject, the company said: "We wish Hugo Barra the best. We'll miss him at Google and we're excited that he is staying within the Android ecosystem."
