By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Jun 28 -- Unisoc Shanghai Technologies, the biggest independent designer of smartphone chips in China, has announced its latest senior management reshuffle on June 27, appointing Ma Daojie, executive vice president of parent firm Tsinghua Unigroup, as its chairman. He replaced former chairman Wu Shengwu, who will return to the parent company as vice president.

Ma has years of experience as a senior executive in telecom businesse. He also knows well about semiconductor industry and initial public offerings, helpful to Shanghai-based Unisoc in its efforts for its stock market listing plans and efforts to expand in the future, according to a Yicai Global report.

Born in 1964, Ma has worked as executive vice president, president, and chairman of Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics, a listed firm under Tsinghua Unigroup, since December 2017. He was also a senior executive at China Unicom Group, China Telecommunications Group, and Lenovo Group before joining Tsinghua Unigroup.

Tsinghua Unigroup has been adjusting business structure and personnel at its subsidiaries since being rescued from bankruptcy last year. Wu Shengwu, who was made chairman of Unisoc in February last year, said the company.

Unisoc had about an 11 percent share of the global market for smartphone chips last year, ranking fourth far behind industry leaders Qualcomm and MediaTek, per data from Counterpoint Research, said the Yicai Global report.