Huawei executive Ryan Ding (pictured) died suddenly over the weekend at the age of 53, the company disclosed.

Local media reported the executive was an avid long-distance runner and collapsed after taking part in a 28km run.

Ding headed Huawei’s Carrier Business Group since 2017 and added the role of president of its fast-growing Enterprise Business Group in January.

He joined Huawei in 1996 and also served as deputy chairman of the company’s supervisory board.

The Carrier Business Group accounted for nearly half of the company’s total revenue of CNY301.6 billion ($42.4 billion) in the first half of 2022.

Mohamed Madkour, VP of Global Network Solutions, tweeted the company and whole industry “lost a leader from whom I personally learned a lot. His vision, wisdom and work spirit in Huawei for the past 26 years was just remarkable”.