Hong Kong mobile carrier SmarTone said Douglas Li has resigned from his position of executive director and chief executive, after serving the company for nearly two decades.
Li has served two separate terms as CEO at the mobile operator. He was the founding chief executive of the company from 1992 to 1996 and returned to head the cellco in 2001.
In a statement released Wednesday, the company said “Li felt it was the right time to pass the baton to the next generation of leadership.”
"Having been CEO for over 14 years this second time round, it is time to hand over to the next generation of leadership to take the company and the industry forward in the fast evolving mobile-first Internet," Li said in the statement.
Li will step down at the end of August and the company is searching for his replacement.
SmarTone, which is the third largest mobile carrier in the city, reported a 36% decline in net profit for the fiscal year 2013-2014, due to rising network operating costs and lower handset margins.
The company, which has mobile business operations in both Hong Kong and Macau, has recently won a license to provide 4G services in Macau.