After months of speculation, leadership changes at Qiming Venture Partners have been confirmed.
Nisa Leung, a managing partner with 18 years at the firm, is stepping down, according to ChinaVenture. This move aligns with Qiming’s “ten-year succession plan,” under which Duane Kuang, another managing partner, is also set to gradually transition out.
Taking the reins are three leaders: Hu Xubo, a managing partner since 2015; Zhou Zhifeng, who was promoted to managing partner in May 2024; and Chen Kan, who joined as a partner in January 2022.
Marking its 18th year, Qiming is transitioning from its USD fund roots to a more mature phase. In the firm’s revised structure, Zhou will continue leading investments in frontier technologies. Chen, however, will see the most significant role shift. As co-head of Qiming’s healthcare investment team, he will collaborate with Hu to steer the firm’s medical portfolio, cementing his transition from scientist to investor.
Qiming’s succession planning underscores a critical issue for venture capital firms: ensuring continuity in a business built on relationships. Kuang has previously stressed the need for early preparation, telling 36Kr that a robust pipeline must be developed while experienced leaders remain active, avoiding the scramble to fill gaps after their departure.
Leung’s exit recalls the 2019 departure of JP Gan, another notable partner who left to establish Ince Capital. Like Leung, Gan was a regular on the Midas List and instrumental in shaping Qiming’s legacy. Both exits coincided with sectoral shifts—Gan left as the consumer internet sector waned, and Leung departs amid a cooling healthcare investment boom.
Leung holds a profound legacy at Qiming. Growing up in Hong Kong, she studied at Cornell University and Stanford Graduate School of Business before embarking on a US-based investment career. She later founded three healthcare companies in China before joining Qiming in 2006, where she built its healthcare investment team from scratch.
Her track record includes major successes like Zai Lab, where Qiming’s Series A investment in 2014 valued the company at USD 25 million. Within three years, Zai Lab had gone public in the US, followed by a Hong Kong listing in 2020, with its valuation peaking at USD 7 billion.
Another triumph was Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals. At a time when the company faced significant challenges—including patent disputes and stagnant revenues—Leung championed its potential. Her investment thesis on third-generation insulin in China led to over a billion dollars in return.
As Leung steps back, Qiming’s healthcare team enters a new phase under Hu, a veteran in medical devices and RMB investments, who will partner with Chen. With prior experience at Johnson & Johnson and Hengrui Medicine, Chen aims to focus on first-in-class targets and technologies that leverage China’s clinical resources for global impact.
Despite a challenging 2023, Qiming executed 47 healthcare investments. Between 2022 and mid-2023, its portfolio companies completed 19 cross-border deals totaling over USD 8.5 billion. A broader milestone for the sector came in 2023, as domestic license-out deals surpassed license-ins for the first time. Chen views this as an opportune moment for Chinese healthcare firms to globalize.
Qiming is gearing up to raise a new fund, expected to range between USD 800 million and USD 1 billion, with Kuang leading fundraising efforts.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Ren Qian for 36Kr.