On the move

Xiaomi's Barra takes trans-Pacific leap to FB

Hugo Barra, Xiaomi Corp's vice-president for the last four years, has quit and returned to the Silicon Valley, where he will head Facebook's virtual reality division. Barra said he was leaving Xiaomi to rejoin family and friends. He also attributed his decision to environment and health reasons. The former Google executive, known for helping develop the Android operating system, was Xiaomi's main pitchman to foreign audiences. He was instrumental in making the gadget and appliance maker one of the country's best known tech labels. Xiaomi has since been dethroned from the top of the domestic smartphone market by local brands such as Oppo, Huawei, OnePlus and Vivo. In a Facebook post after joining the online social network, Barra said: "I look forward to building the future of immersive technology."

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