Addendum
Internal turmoil continues at HNA Group
September 1st 2018
Not a week goes by without more news about the perceived perilous state of the HNA Group’s indebtedness. Read More » The group is the parent company of HNA Aviation and the ultimate owner of several Mainland carriers.
In early September, the Financial Times reported that the turmoil at the group was not confined to its over-committed loan portfolio. It said management conflicts had escalated into boardroom infighting following the recent accidental death of the group’s co-founder, Wang Jiang.
Wang died in late July when he fell backwards while taking photographs of a church in Provence in France. On August 1, the HNA Group board quickly appointed co-founder, Chen Feng, as sole chairman and confirmed Adam Tan as chief executive.
Since then the Financial Times has reported, Chen has overseen the appointment of his son, Chen Xiaofeng, as a board director and deputy CEO of the group. His nephew also has secured a senior management role in the conglomerate.
In the meantime, Guang Yang, a reported fundraiser for defeated 2016 presidential candidate, Jeb Bush, has left the company. “It’s an absolute mess now. It’s gone from under pressure to complete internal politics and breakdown,” an unnamed source who has had a long association with the HNA Group told the newspaper.
