OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, who has been the face of the company in the west for the past seven years, reportedly left the company. News of his departure first appeared in Reddit (via AndroidPolice), when user JonSigur shared screenshots of internal notes on OnePlus. The memos listed the company’s leadership structure, but did not include Pei’s name. The screenshots also mentioned that Emily Dai, who has been in charge of the company’s operations in India, was recently appointed director of the Nord product line globally. Pei was previously in charge of Nord, and was a prominent figure in the recently released documentary on the development of the phone.
Two sources familiar with the matter have confirmed Android Central that Pei had left his position at OnePlus in recent weeks and is no longer listed in the company’s latest org chart. Although OnePlus and Pei have yet to release a statement on the matter, a report from TechCrunch claims that Pei has left the company to start his own company.
OnePlus is scheduled to launch the OnePlus 8T in just one day, and Pei’s departure in the middle of a major product launch has raised questions about the circumstances of his departure. The news comes a few weeks before Pei’s latest project, the OnePlus Nord, is expected to hit the US shores in the form of two affordable devices: the OnePlus Nord N10 and N100. The other co-founder of the company, Pete Lau, is still with the company and serves as CEO. However, he recently took on an additional role as Senior Vice President and Director of Product Experience at OPLUS, an investment firm that oversees OnePlus, OPPO, and possibly others.
