Su Hua

Overview

Su Hua is a Chinese technology entrepreneur best known as a co-founder of Kuaishou.^[1] He was born in 1982 in Hunan province and graduated from Tsinghua University.^[1] His career spans software development at major technology companies and the founding and leadership of a consumer internet company. In public accounts of Kuaishou's leadership, he is associated with the company's creation and with a later succession in which his co-founder took over the CEO role while Su remained involved in board leadership for a period.^[1][3]

Education and early career

Su graduated from Tsinghua University.^[1] He then worked as a software developer at Google in the United States and later at Baidu.^[1] These roles placed him in software development positions at two large internet companies before he moved into founding a company. The facts of his early career are simple: a Tsinghua education, then software development at Google in the United States, then software development at Baidu.^[1]

Founding Kuaishou

In 2011, Su co-founded Kuaishou with Cheng Yixiao.^[1] The product originally took the form of a GIF-sharing app.^[1] Tencent was an early investor in the company.^[1] For a founder, the early form of a product matters because it defines the first user experience and the first technical problems the team has to solve. Kuaishou's starting point was a tool for sharing GIFs. The co-founding relationship with Cheng Yixiao would later become central to the company's leadership structure.^[1]

Leadership and succession

Su served as Kuaishou's CEO until October 2021, when he stepped down from the role.^[1] Cheng Yixiao succeeded him as CEO.^[1][2] At the time of the change, Kuaishou appointed co-founder Cheng as CEO after Su left the role, and Cheng reported to Su.^[3] Su also remained chairman of Kuaishou's board and an executive director after stepping down as CEO.^[3] This arrangement separated the CEO role from the chairmanship for a period, while keeping the co-founder in a senior board and executive position.

On 29 October 2023, Cheng also replaced Su as chairman.^[1][2] The sequence is therefore: Su stepped down as CEO in October 2021; Cheng became CEO and reported to Su; Su remained chairman and executive director; then in October 2023 Cheng took over the chairman role as well. The succession happened in stages rather than as a single exit from leadership.

Why it matters

Su's public career is a case study in how a technical background can lead to company founding and how founder-led companies manage succession. He moved from software development at Google and Baidu to co-founding Kuaishou in 2011.^[1] The company began as a GIF-sharing app with Tencent as an early investor.^[1] Later, the leadership structure changed in two stages: Cheng Yixiao became CEO in October 2021, and then also chairman on 29 October 2023.^[1][2] Throughout the first stage, Su remained chairman and executive director, and Cheng reported to him.^[3] These facts define his position in Kuaishou's history: co-founder, former CEO, and former chairman, with a continuing board and executive role during the transition period.^[1][3]