(Yicai Global) Feb. 1 -- Real estate giant China Vanke Co. has named Zhu Jiusheng as president and chief executive officer, taking over the responsibilities of the firm's chairman, Yu Liang.

The appointment of Zhu, 49, a staunch ally of Chairman Yu and current head of the Shenzhen-based company's financial-services unit, was unanimously approved by Vanke's board, the group said in a statement yesterday.

"Zhu has shown excellent business and management skills since he joined Vanke. He is very good at inspiring teams to become creative and innovative," said Chairman Yu, adding, "Zhu is familiar with all types of Vanke's businesses and has an acute awareness of the changing business environment. It is valuable for Vanke in transition."

Zhu was named the chairman of Vanke Financial in 2014, having joined the firm in 2012 as a senior vice president. He brought with him 19 years of experience accrued while working for China Construction Bank, one of the country's biggest state-owned banks.

In July 2017, Zhu led the development of Penghua Qianhai Vanke Real Estate Investment Trusts, China's first publicly offered real estate investment trust.

Outgoing president Yu had led Vanke since June last year when founder Wang Shi retired. Compared with the Wang Shi, Yu has laid more of an emphasis on capital operation, spending CNY5.09 billion setting up two commercial real estate investment funds after its acquisition of SCP Group. The developer also joined hands with four companies to set up a logistics real estate fund worth of CNY6 billion in October 2016.