The newly appointed president of Baidu will be taking over the company's day-to-day management as Chairman Robin Li concentrates on strategies and investments, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Last week, the Chinese search-engine company appointed Qi Lu, a former Microsoft executive, as president and chief operating officer. He used to head Microsoft's apps and services business before joining Baidu.
A known expert in artificial intelligence (AI), Lu's appointment is seen to boost Baidu's push toward AI. According to the WSJ, Lu's tasks include overseeing the company's products, services, sales, marketing, and operations. He will report directly to Li while every business unit in Baidu will report to him.
Focusing on AI is one of the company's biggest ventures this year, having seen lower-than-expected revenue in the last quarter. While Lu did not specify the new strategies that he plans to bring to Baidu, he said that growth will most come from AI research.
As part of Microsoft's Applications and Services Group, Lu headed projects involving Skype, Bing and Microsoft Office.
A revered figure at Microsoft, Lu also pushed the company to explore fresh areas such as chatbots and, of course, AI. He spent eight years with the Redmond, Washington-based multinational tech group.
"Dr. Lu possesses a wealth of leadership and management experience, and is a leading authority in the area of artificial intelligence," Li said in a statement.
"To achieve our goals, especially in artificial intelligence, which is a key strategic focus for the next decade, we will need to continue attracting the best global talent," he added.
AI has been a hot area among tech firms recently. According to market research firm Tractica, the annual worldwide revenue for AI products and services will jump to $36.8 billion by 2025 from 643.7 million last year, making it the fastest-growing segment in the IT industry.