The helmsman of Chinese private equity (PE) firm Centurium Capital has returned to the board of Luckin Coffee. Separately, JPMorgan has hired the CEO of CDH Investments to serve as its new vice chair of Asia Pacific.
Centurium Capital’s David Li returns as Luckin chairman
David Li, the helmsman of Chinese PE firm Centurium Capital, has returned to the board of Luckin Coffee after a jump in the Chinese Starbucks challenger’s first-quarter revenue. Centurium Capital is Luckin’s biggest shareholder with a 31.3% stake.
Li, chairman and CEO of Centurium Capital, returned as a director and assumed the role of chairman at Luckin as the company showcased over $1.2 billion in Q1 revenue, marking a 41.2% increase year-over-year (YoY).
Guo Jinyi will cease to be the chairman of Luckin’s board of directors but will continue serving as the coffeehouse chain’s CEO and a board member. Guo took over the CEO role from founder Charles Lu in July 2020, just a month after Luckin was forced to delist from Nasdaq due to its notorious accounting fraud, in which the company fabricated about $310 million of its sales in the three quarters starting in April 2019.
Guo has played a crucial role over the past five years in rebuilding Luckin’s reputation and bringing it back from the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, Centurium Capital has continued to invest in Luckin even during its darkest periods. Li had previously served as a director at the coffee chain.
As of February 28, Centurium Capital held 31.3% of Luckin’s total shares, equivalent to 53.6% of the voting rights. Investment firm Joy Capital owned 4.7% of Luckin, or 3.2% of the voting rights.
Li’s return and his expertise in business management will “significantly contribute” to Luckin’s growth and strategic development both domestically and globally, said Guo, adding that he will continue to work closely with Li.
The total number of Luckin stores was close to 24,100 by the end of Q1, marking a store unit growth of 7.9% from the previous quarter. The Chinese company booked 1,757 net new store openings in Q1, including five in Hong Kong, six in Singapore, eight in Malaysia, and the rest in mainland China.
JPMorgan hires CDH Investments chief
JPMorgan has appointed the chief executive of Chinese alternative asset manager CDH Investments as its new vice chair of Asia Pacific, as the US bank seeks to expand its presence in the region.
Alex To, the former CEO of CDH Investments, will be based in Hong Kong and report to Sjoerd Leenart, chief executive of JPMorgan Asia Pacific, according to a memo confirmed by a JPMorgan spokesperson.
With over three decades of experience in banking and alternative asset management, To was co-head of Asia Pacific Investment Banking at Bank of America and previously served as chairman of China Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, before joining China-focused CDH Investments in 2022.
To’s appointment is the latest major hire by JPMorgan, which has been strategically recruiting new talent across Asia Pacific in recent years, including in Australia, Greater China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, as it looks to defend its investment banking position and grow its market share, according to the memo.
The US bank is also expanding its corporate banking team in Asia and plans to increase headcount by 10% by year-end.
