Manu Kumar Jain, the former CEO and Global VP of Xiaomi, has joined Abu Dhabi-based company G42 as the CEO of the Indian division. G42 is a group of companies that operates in multiple sectors like information technology, healthcare, finance, aviation, hospitality, and more.
Manu will lead the AI development of G42 and has joined as the CEO for the Indian region. Earlier this year, Manu Kumar Jain left Xiaomi after being associated with them for 9 years.
Manu Kumar Jain Joins G42 As India CEO
Manu Kumar Jain has officially confirmed joining the G42 group of companies, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He will be leading the research and development of AI technologies and will serve as the CEO of the Indian division.
G42 will start expanding its services in India in the IT sector. Currently, the IT business of G42 is more dominant in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. The company is looking to kickstart AI development in India, under the leadership of Manu.
G42 has over 20,000 employees across 10 different companies. The technology division of G42 was responsible for the CCTV and Security monitoring of the Dubai Expo 2020 event, which had a footfall of over 24 million visitors. G42 used AI-based facial tracking to monitor over 1,50,000 people daily.
Manu Kumar Jain Led Xiaomi to Become No. 1 Smartphone Brand in India
Manu Kumar Jain was one of the very early employees when Xiaomi started its operations in India. He joined Xiaomi India in 2014 to lead the smartphone business in the country. Under his leadership, Xiaomi launched groundbreaking devices like the Xiaomi Mi 3, Redmi Note 4G, Redmi 1S, and more which became instant hits in India.
Xiaomi’s breakout moment came with the launch of the Redmi Note 3 in 2016. The device remained the top-selling smartphone for over 6 months in the sub-Rs 10,000 price segment. It was soon followed by the Redmi Note 4, and the Redmi Note 5 Pro in subsequent years which sold in such huge numbers which made Xiaomi the #1 smartphone brand in India, with the highest market share.
As per industry experts, Manu Kumar Jain played a key role in the success of Xiaomi in India. However, Manu’s impressive stint did not begin at Xiaomi. He was already a successful entrepreneur even before joining Xiaomi.
Manu Kumar Jain was the co-founder of the e-commerce portal Jabong, in 2012. Jabong soon became the most popular e-commerce website in India, having record-breaking traffic. The business was acquired by Myntra in 2014, after which he moved to Xiaomi.
Manu also has a solid educational background. He has completed his course in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi, along with an MBA from IIM Calcutta. He has also worked with McKinsey and Company for almost 5 years.
It will be interesting to see how Manu Kumar Jain leads G42 in India. His track record at Xiaomi and Jabong has set huge expectations for his capabilities. As of now, G42 has not yet released the actual roadmap of its business plans in India.
