In a new interview, Xiaomi's new head of global expansion, Hugo Barra, discusses his future with the up and coming Chinese company as well as his departure from Google's Android team. Xiaomi is gaining notoriety for the low-cost but high-spec Android devices they are developing for the Chinese market, devices that Matias Duarte thought were one of the best examples of how to extend the Android platform in a conversation with Barra. It was that recognition, as well as some urging from Xiaomi investor and close Barra friend Robin Chan, that led to Barra becoming one of the company's first non-Chinese hires.
According to Barra, Xiaomi president Bin Lin was looking for a product person “with deep user insight” instead of a business person to head up the company's global expansion efforts. Discussions lasted for a good six months according to Barra, who thought Xiaomi,
“was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, truly a dream job, this idea of building a global company which could be as significant as Google, from the ground up.”
Barra says he was happy at Google, but just couldn't pass up the possibilities represented by Xiaomi. The discussions eventually included Google as well as Barra wanted any change to be transparent. For Google, the move was not necessarily a bad thing either as they now have a friend at an up and coming manufacturer in China.
Barra's impressions of Xiaomi now that he is inside the door is that they are “building hardware like it was software. It's all about small teams, really scrappy, that iterate, iterate, iterate.” Barra also notes in the interview that Xiaomi has a strong focus on users, which has resulted in a number of new features being implemented. As far as growth opportunities, locations like India, Russia, Indonesia, Latin America, and Thailand will figure heavily in Xaiomi's future. Nevertheless, Barra still thinks Xiaomi will need to land some positive feedback from countries like the U.S. and some European countries, which Barra calls “trend-setting.”
Barra says he is in the process of preparing for a move to Beijing to establish his residence there and has started the process of learning to speak Chinese. Although he officially starts with Xiaomi in October, he has already started making some appearances at company events.
source: AllThingsD
