Guizhou Moutai's "face of the brand" has fallen apart

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On the afternoon of March 13, a notice from the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision put Guizhou Moutai under the spotlight.

The notice states that Jiang Yan, a member of the Party Committee, Deputy General Manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd., is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation. On the same day, Guizhou Moutai issued a statement confirming that Jiang Yan has been placed under detention by the Zunyi City Supervision Committee.

Looking at Jiang Yan’s background, this female executive holding three key positions at Moutai is not only a core builder of Moutai’s vast financial empire but also the “official face” of this trillion-yuan enterprise in the capital markets.

Builder of Moutai’s Financial Empire

Public information shows that Jiang Yan was born in 1977, holds a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s in business administration. Her career can be clearly divided into two main phases: banking and Moutai.

In 2001, Jiang Yan joined the Bank of China’s Guizhou branch, working in accounting, corporate credit, legal compliance, and risk control roles. In 2012, she participated in the establishment of the Industrial Bank Guizhou branch, serving as Deputy General Manager of the Business Development Department. In October of the same year, she joined Moutai Group, beginning a more than ten-year deep association with Moutai.

Within the Moutai system, Jiang Yan’s trajectory clearly points to a core mission: to build and operate a modern industrial financial platform for this white liquor giant with astonishing cash flow. She led the establishment of Guizhou Moutai Group Financial Co., Ltd., serving as Risk Director. This company is also known as Moutai’s “internal bank.”

Starting in 2014, she led the establishment and management of Moutai Jianxin (Guizhou) Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. and Moutai (Shanghai) Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. The former is an important platform for Moutai’s external industrial investments, while the latter provides financial services to upstream and downstream industries.

In March 2021, she also served as Vice Chairman of Guiyang Guoyin Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. In November 2021, Jiang Yan was appointed Deputy General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Guizhou Moutai, also acting as Secretary of the Board. She was officially appointed as Secretary in January of the following year. At this point, she held four roles simultaneously: Deputy General Manager, CFO, Secretary of the Board, and Chairwoman of the Group’s core financial platform.

In August 2025, Guizhou Moutai issued a “Risk Assessment Report on Guizhou Moutai Group Financial Co., Ltd.” The report shows that the financial company has a registered capital of 2.5 billion yuan, with main businesses including accepting deposits from member units, providing loans, and bill discounting.

As of June 30, 2025, the company’s total assets reached 148.274 billion yuan, total liabilities 136.998 billion yuan, owner’s equity 11.276 billion yuan, with operating income of 1.704 billion yuan and net profit of 634 million yuan.

Additionally, the financial company’s capital adequacy ratio was 23.87%, far above the regulatory standard of 10.5%. Non-performing asset and non-performing loan ratios were both 0. Moutai’s deposits in the financial company totaled 19.227 billion yuan, with no loan business or delayed payments.

Secretary of the Board Rarely Under Investigation Before

Jiang Yan’s investigation has attracted strong market attention mainly because of her unique role as Secretary of the Board.

The Secretary of the Board is not merely a “secretary” in name. According to company law and capital market rules, the Secretary of the Board is a senior management position mandated by law in listed companies and is the only official window for communication between the company and the capital market (including regulators, stock exchanges, investors, and media).

Wu Gangliang, researcher at the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association, told China News Weekly that the Secretary of the Board is responsible for preparing shareholder and board meetings, managing documents, handling shareholder information, disclosure of information, and investor relations. They are often considered the “face” of the company.

In the A-share market, despite frequent executive changes—over 800 secretaries left their positions in 2025 alone—cases of secretaries being detained or investigated for suspected serious violations are very rare.

According to incomplete statistics from China News Weekly, at least five listed company secretaries have been detained or investigated by supervisory authorities since 2022, with Jiang Yan possibly being the sixth. In comparison, cases involving chairmen or actual controllers being investigated are more common.

Wu Gangliang observed that the misconduct of secretaries under detention in recent years mainly involves financial fraud, disclosure violations, and unfair related-party transactions—issues related to compliance and internal controls. These are not necessarily personal corruption cases but pose significant risks to the company.

He further explained that while chairmen bear primary responsibility for information disclosure, secretaries are responsible for organizing and coordinating disclosure matters and are more involved in internal control processes. “When the secretary gets into trouble, it could mean issues in the company’s disclosure, financial management, and governance processes.”

It is still uncertain how much impact Jiang Yan’s investigation will have on the company’s daily operations.

Guizhou Moutai emphasized in yesterday’s announcement: “The company’s directors and other senior management are performing their duties normally, production and operations are proceeding in an orderly manner, and the matters announced will not have a significant impact on the company’s production and management. Currently, the chairman, Chen Hua, is acting as Secretary of the Board.”