Xiaomi has hired Spotify’s Donovan Sung to lead international product development, according to a latest report from TechCrunch. The report comes weeks after the Chinese telecom maker hired Jai Mani as lead product manager in India.
The report said that Xiaomi has poached Sung from Spotify where he was the service’s first product manager in the US and had a pivotal role in the music streaming services development. Sung is also a former Googler and has worked with the search giant between 2008 and 2012. Xiaomi has not officially confirmed the appointment yet but the Sung has revealed on his Facebook account that he is quitting Spotify, said the report.
Sung who is bilingual, will act as a bridge between Barra and Xiaomi’s executive team, most of whom are not fluent in English, added the report. In August last year, Hugo Barra leaved Google to join Xiaomi. Ever since then, the company is keeping the Google connection in its core team hiring. Xiaomi has quickly gained popularity with its affordable and value for money Mi devices. The Chinese smartphone maker became the third largest smartphone maker in the world in Q3 2014 as per yesterday’s IDC report.