Paper giant Zhongshun Jierou Paper Industry Co., Ltd. (stock abbreviation, Zhongshun Jierou, 002511. SZ) has been promoting "de familialization" for nearly five years. The "80s generation" professional managers selected by founder Deng Yingzhong have successively resigned from their positions as president and chairman.

According to the announcement by Zhongshun Jierou on January 10th, the board of directors has recently received a written resignation report from Chairman Liu Peng. Due to personal career development plans, Liu Peng has applied to resign from his positions as a director, chairman, member of the Nomination Committee, member of the Strategy and Sustainable Development Committee, and legal representative of the company. After resigning, he will continue to hold other positions in the company.

Liu Peng was originally the chairman and president of Zhongshun Jierou, shouldering the responsibility. On December 11, 2025, Zhongshun Jierou suddenly announced that due to the company's strategic development needs, Liu Peng had applied to resign from his position as president. After resigning, he continued to serve as chairman, member of the nomination committee, and member of the strategy and sustainable development committee.

Liu Peng, born in 1980 and now 45 years old, has successively served as the president of the Jiangmen Branch and Zhongshan Branch of Industrial Bank, and is the vice chairman of the Household Paper Professional Committee of the China Paper Association. Appointed as the President of Zhongshun Jierou from March 2021 and as the Chairman of Zhongshun Jierou from April 2021. In 2024, Liu Peng received a total pre tax compensation of 5.1417 million yuan from the company.

Liu Peng's rise to power in Zhongshun Jierou is a landmark event for this private paper giant to promote "de familialization".

According to public information, Deng Yingzhong, who is now 75 years old, started his entrepreneurial journey in 1979. At the age of 28, he borrowed 500 yuan and hired several workers to contract a paper mill in Ronggui Town, Shunde, Guangdong, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. He mainly engaged in the renovation of old cement packaging bags and the production of cement packaging paper. Soon after, he quickly became one of the first "ten thousand yuan households" in the local area and created the paper industry giant that followed.

In 2010, Zhongshun Jierou became the first domestic household paper company to be listed on the A-share market, marking the company's transformation into a modern public company. After going public, Deng Yingzhong began to plan a long-term inheritance mechanism, including conducting a "death drill" to simulate the scenario of the founder's death, and gradually implementing a professional manager system. In April 2021, Deng Yingzhong resigned as chairman and was succeeded by external professional manager Liu Peng, while his son Deng Guanbiao stepped down as general manager.

In April 2021, Zhongshun Jierou announced that based on considerations of the company's future strategic development plan, it would further promote the professional manager system, continuously improve the corporate governance structure, and consolidate the foundation for the company's growth and strength. Deng Yingzhong, one of the company's founders and actual controllers, applied to resign from the position of chairman and continue to serve as a director of the fifth board of directors and chairman of the strategic committee. Subsequently, the board unanimously agreed to elect Liu Peng as the chairman of the fifth board of directors of the company.

Regarding this significant personnel change, in January 2024, Deng Yingzhong mentioned in a media interview that after the listing of Zhongshun Jierou, she had been planning to relinquish her position as chairman and focus on "de familialization" to build Zhongshun Jierou into a modern company. He delegated full decision-making power to the heads of various functional departments, who were all externally hired and to some extent equivalent to professional managers of the company. Regarding why Deng Yingzhong chose this young business successor with a background in the financial industry, she said in an interview that "the capable are the best, and only talent and virtue are the standards." The two of them share the same values and are like "soulful father and son.

However, in less than five years since Liu Peng took over the leadership of Zhongshun Jierou, the company's net profit has continued to decline, with a particularly significant decline in 2024.

According to the annual reports from 2020 to 2024, the company's revenue was 7.824 billion yuan, 9.15 billion yuan, 8.57 billion yuan, 9.801 billion yuan, and 8.151 billion yuan, respectively. The net profit attributable to the parent company was 906 million yuan, 581 million yuan, 350 million yuan, 333 million yuan, and 77 million yuan, respectively. In 2024, the company's annual revenue decreased by 16.84% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to the parent company decreased by 76.80% year-on-year. Zhongshun Jierou stated that in 2024, due to factors such as intensified industry market competition, the overall gross profit margin of enterprises will decrease year-on-year, and profit margins will be further squeezed

It is worth noting that at the time of the resignation of the "successor" Liu Peng, the "old minister" who had followed Deng Yingzhong for many years was elected to the board of directors.

According to the company's announcement on January 10th, in order to ensure the normal operation of the board of directors, after review by the nomination committee of the board of directors, the 15th meeting of the 6th board of directors of the company approved the "Proposal on By election of Non Independent Directors of the 6th board of directors of the company" and agreed to elect Yang Yuzhao as a candidate for non independent directors of the 6th board of directors of the company. According to the resume disclosed in the announcement, Yang Yuzhao, who is 63 years old, has been following the company's founder Deng Yingzhong for many years. He has served as the sales manager of the company, the general manager of Tangshan branch, the general manager of Hubei Zhongshun, and the assistant to the chairman of Zhongshun Jierou. He served as a director of the company from 2015 to 2017 and has been serving as the assistant to the chairman of the company since 2009.