Vanke's most expensive female secretary has a new appointment

（Source: Real Estate Whale’s Descent）

Recently, Zhu Xu, former executive secretary of Vanke’s board, has received a new appointment.

I. Latest appointment: Vanke Group’s Deputy Party Committee Secretary

Recently, the information on Vanke’s official website—Group Introduction—Party organization leadership has been updated. Zhu Xu is now serving as Deputy Party Committee Secretary of Vanke Group.

II. 2025 job change timeline

In 2025, Zhu Xu went through three major job adjustments, reflecting Vanke’s strategic reshaping after the state-owned capital’s deep involvement:

1. January 2025: She stepped down from positions including executive secretary of Vanke’s board, company secretary, authorized representative, etc., and transferred to the Boda Apartment (Long-term Rental Apartments) Business Division under Vanke, responsible for business liaison work.

2. March 2025: Appointed as a non-executive director of Vanke Cloud and a member of its audit committee.

3. June 2025: She stepped down as a non-executive director of Vanke Cloud and officially took on the role of business负责人 (city business head) of Vanke Cloud Cheng business.

III. Zhu Xu’s professional background and capabilities

• Educational background: Born in 1975; graduated from Hunan University of Finance and Economics (now Hunan University) in 1997 and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics; obtained a Master’s degree in Management from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in 2001; obtained a Master’s degree in Public Policy from University College London in 2006; Rhodes scholar and registered tax accountant.

• Work experience:

◦ Early: Worked for the Shenzhen Municipal State Taxation Bureau.

◦ Corporate sector: Served as executive secretary to the board in Shenzhen Greetop Group Co., Ltd. and in Guomin Technology Co., Ltd., successively.

◦ Vanke period: Joined Vanke in 2016 and previously served as Deputy General Manager of the Group and executive secretary to the board.

Current roles: Deputy Party Committee Secretary of Vanke Group; General Manager of Vanke Cloud Cheng at the Property Business Division of Vanke Group; also concurrently serves as a member of the 10th Listed Company Committee of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, a standing member of the Executive Secretary Committee of the 2nd Board Secretary Council of the China Association of Listed Companies, and a director of the China Tax Society.

• Key contribution: During the 2017 “Ponywan Dispute” (宝万之争), by leveraging her excellent ability to coordinate between government and enterprises and communicate with investors, she helped Vanke introduce Shenzhen Metro Group as the “white knight,” successfully resolving the crisis.

• Compensation peak: In 2018, her annual salary reached 8.49 million yuan, becoming the “most expensive female board secretary in A-shares” at that time.

IV. Overview of Vanke Cloud Cheng business

• Strategic position: Assigned strategic status as one of the “three carriages,” it is the Vanke Cloud brand focused on city services.

• Revenue: In 2024, operating revenue was only 756M yuan, accounting for 2.1% of Vanke Cloud’s total revenue; it has a substantial gap compared with basic property management (72.3% share).

• Business model: The concept of “property city,” attempting to package government services such as municipal sanitation and public facilities into “big property management.”

• Development challenges: City services business heavily depends on government resources. In every step—obtaining projects, signing contracts, and collecting payments—close communication with government departments is required.

• Zhu Xu’s advantages: Her early experience working at the Shenzhen Taxation Bureau makes her deeply familiar with the rules of government operations. The solution for the “Ponywan Dispute” led during her Vanke tenure demonstrates her ability to coordinate the interests of both government and enterprises.

V. Zhu Xu’s compensation over the years

Year-by-year basic compensation (pre-tax):

• 2016: 7.32M yuan (joined in March)

• 2017: 8.22M yuan

• 2018: 8.49M yuan (peak, known as the “most expensive female board secretary in A-shares”)

• 2019: 5.68M yuan

• 2020: 5.76M yuan

• 2021: 4.35M yuan

• 2022: 4.30 million yuan

• 2023: 1.05M yuan (voluntary salary reduction)

• 2024: about 1.03M yuan

Economic profit bonus (after tax):

• 2016: 4.0937 million yuan

• 2017: 5.71 million yuan

• 2018: 4.49M yuan

• 2019: 7.22M yuan

• 2020: 4.4705 million yuan

• From 2021: The economic profit bonus plan is suspended

Compensation total statistics:

• Total annual pre-tax compensation: about 45.49M yuan

• Total economic profit bonus: about 25.9832 million yuan (2016–2020)

• Total compensation: about 71.48 million yuan

VI. Vanke’s overall background and strategic adjustments

• State-owned capital takeover: In 2025, Shenzhen Metro Group fully takes over Vanke, and professional managers gradually exit the core layer.

• Organizational structure: In September 2025, Vanke launched what it called the “largest organizational restructuring in 40 years,”撤销三级管控架构 (abolishing the three-tier control structure) and shifting to a two-tier flat management model of “Headquarters–City Companies.”

• Vanke Cloud performance: In 2024, Vanke Cloud revenue was 36.22 billion yuan, up 9.2% year over year; core net profit was 2.23 billion yuan, down 4.8% year over year.

• Business independence: The proportion of related-party transactions for Vanke Cloud decreased from 19.2% in 2021 to 9.5% in 2024, further strengthening business independence.

VII. Significance and challenges of Zhu Xu’s new role

Zhu Xu has shifted from the core of capital operations to the front line of business, and is expected to use her government–enterprise coordination capabilities to drive the development of Vanke Cloud Cheng business. Her mission has a dual nature:

1. Short term: Increase Vanke Cloud Cheng’s share of operating revenue

2. Long term: Explore sustainable profit models, such as linking the “property city” concept with Vanke’s old renovation projects and TOD projects

Song Hongwei, co-executive dean of the Tongce Research Institute, said: “The strategic importance of Vanke Cloud far exceeds Bo Apartment (泊寓); especially for city services, collaboration of government and enterprise resources is needed, and this is precisely Zhu Xu’s advantage.”

Summary: Zhu Xu’s latest appointment is an important personnel adjustment for Vanke amid the context of deep state-owned capital involvement and fundamental changes to the corporate governance structure. From “the most expensive female board secretary in A-shares” to the head of Vanke Cloud Cheng business, her transition reflects Vanke’s strategic shift toward the city services sector, while also facing challenges in increasing this segment’s revenue share and exploring sustainable profitability models.

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