China's largest retailer JD.com has announced its succession plans, with chief executive Xu Lei set to be replaced by finance chief Sandy Xu Ran.

Xu Lei, who has been with JD for more than a decade before officially being made chief executive officer last year, said that he plans to retire in order to spend more time with his family. Following his retirement, Xu Lei will serve as the company’s first advisory council chairman.

Sandy Xu Ran, the company’s third chief exec and first female boss, will immediately begin transitioning to the top position. Prior to joining JD in 2018, she was an audit partner for nearly 20 years with Pricewaterhousecoopers in China and the US.

Speaking with analysts, the outgoing Xu Lei said that the company will grow the number of third-party vendors on its site, while revenue for the three months rose 1.4 per cent to 242.96 billion yuan ($35.15 billion) according to Refinitiv data.

The move to appoint Sandy Xu Ran was described as “surprising” by Citi and comes after a period of restructuring at the company. A Beijing-based analyst for the bank predicted a “more disciplined balance between growth and profit” going forward.

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