Yuan Gao, formerly head of strategic investments, has ascended to head of corporate strategy and investments, almost five years after joining the parent company.
JD Digits, China-based e-commerce firm JD.com’s financial services subsidiary, appointed Yuan Gao head of corporate strategy and investments last month.
Gao joined JD Digits in 2015 as managing director of strategic investments, before ascending to head of strategic investments four years later to focus on China-based deals.
Formed in 2013 as JD Finance, JD Digits was rebranded in late 2018 to focus on financial technology, artificial intelligence, data, the internet of things and blockchain. It launched an early-stage venture capital vehicle dubbed Qianshu Capital in 2017.
The unit most recently invested an undisclosed amount in advertising and media company Unimedia in August 2019, according to PEData, which came a month after it had co-led a $50m series B round for online automotive financing platform Linkfin Technology.
Before joining JD Digits, Gao had spent nine months as an executive director at VC firm ShinZenith Capital from January 2015, having previously been a co-portfolio manager at Optimus Prime Fund for a year and a strategist at Forward Capital for more than three years.
– Photo of Yuan Gao courtesy of LinkedIn
