Chen Ankang retreats behind the scenes, and Shanghai Ailu welcomes a post-90s female Tsinghua graduate to take full control!
The 'second-generation takeover wave' in China's packaging and printing industry is accelerating with an unstoppable momentum. We previously reported that Ms. Jiang Lei, born in February 1987, took over as chairwoman of Huangshan Yongxin Co., Ltd., and the 'post-2000' young talent, Columbia University graduate Jin Xi, became chairman of Hongming Machinery. The succession from the older generation of founders who retire after their achievements to the younger generation stepping forward frequently unfolds.
Now, this baton of handover has reached the hands of Shanghai Ailu Packaging Co., Ltd., a leading domestic provider of integrated soft packaging solutions. An announcement marking the change of an era declares that this industrial and consumer packaging giant with a billion-level scale has officially ushered in the 'Chen Xueqi Era.'
On the evening of May 20, Shanghai Ailu released a major announcement regarding the departure and transition of its directors and senior management personnel. The announcement indicated that on the same day, the company held the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders and the first meeting of the Fifth Board of Directors, completing a centralized re-election of the board.
At this milestone meeting in the company's development history, several veteran members of the previous fourth board collectively stepped down. Due to the board transition, Mr. Chen Shu, a non-independent director of the fourth board, and Mr. Chen Jie, an independent director, no longer hold their respective positions. Meanwhile, although Ms. Lu Chunyan stepped down as a non-independent director, she continues to serve as the company's chief financial officer, supporting the new management team.
Among all personnel changes, the most notable was the step-down of the founding-generation Mr. Chen Ankang. Born in 1964, Chen Ankang is an industry veteran with an EMBA from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and professional internal auditor qualifications. He began his career as assistant to the deputy general manager at Shanghai Petrochemical General Plant and Jinshan Engineering Company, later founding Yuliton Construction and Liton Packaging, and officially joined Ailu Limited as general manager in 2006.
Over the past 20 years, Chen Ankang has led Shanghai Ailu from an unknown local industrial packaging company to the absolute leader in its respective market segments. Following the board transition, Chen Ankang formally stepped down from his roles as chairman and general manager. Although he still holds other positions within the company or its subsidiaries, this signifies that he has completely handed over the operational control of the company.
The new chairman of Shanghai Ailu Packaging Co., Ltd
The person who took up this heavy burden was his daughter, Chen Xueqi, born in 1990. The announcement shows that Chen Xueqi, a non-independent director of the original fourth board, will no longer serve as the fifth board secretary and deputy general manager due to the completion of the reshuffle. However, she not only remains on the board but was also unanimously elected by the board as chairman and general manager of the fifth board.
This means that this 36-year-old young executive has combined Shanghai Airu's strategic decision-making authority (chairman) and administrative execution authority (general manager), achieving true full leadership.
From foreign trade manager to billion-dollar giant
From an outsider's perspective, Chen Xueqi's rise may seem to be a family legacy, but looking at her background, this young female leader is a bona fide "academic school" and "practical fighter" elite. Chen Xueqi holds a Master's degree in Advanced Business Administration from Tsinghua University, possessing a strong strategic vision and modern business management theory. More importantly, she was not a flower parachuted into management but rather endured 14 years of rigorous training at the grassroots level and various core business units at Shanghai Ailun.
According to information, as early as June 2012, Chen Xueqi, who was just over 20 years old, joined Ailu Limited, successively serving as Sales Manager of the International Trade Department, Manager of the Logistics Department, and Manager of the Administration Department. During this period, she not only personally grasped the operational logic of international supply chains but also gained a thorough understanding of the company's underlying operational assets through administrative and logistics management. From March 2014 to March 2017, she served as director and board secretary of Shanghai Ailu, beginning to assist her father in engaging with capital markets and corporate governance.
Subsequently, her practical reach began to extend into diversified businesses. Since 2016, she has served as a director of Shanghai Zongyue E-commerce Co., Ltd., and since April 2017, she has been executive director and general manager of Shanghai Aikun New Material Technology Co., Ltd., accumulating rich entrepreneurial and team leadership experience in the internet and new materials fields. From March 2017 to May 2026, she served as Director, Board Secretary, and Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Ailu for a full nine years, deeply involved as a core executive in every major strategic transformation of the company.
It can be said that from frontline foreign trade to capital connections, and then to new business incubation, every step Chen Xueqi has taken has been extremely solid. This is the confidence behind her current smooth succession and the important responsibilities entrusted by the board.
Dragged down by new materials, performance urgently needs a turnaround against the wind
However, when Chen Xueqi stepped onto the stage, he was not facing a period of peaceful contemplation, but an outright "headwind." Alongside global macroeconomic fluctuations and supply chain cost pressures, Shanghai Airu is experiencing a rare transformation pains in recent years. According to the company's previously disclosed 2025 annual report, the company's main business revenue was 1.174 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year decrease of 1.37%; However, profits suffered a heavy blow, with net profit attributable to the parent company losing 123 million yuan, a year-on-year plunge of 330.05%; Net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses was 117 million yuan, down 352.1% year-on-year.
A thorough analysis of this annual report reveals that the "culprit" behind Shanghai Ailu's 100-million-yuan loss is not its traditional core paper packaging business, but rather the company's second growth curve-photovoltaic new materials-which the company has vigorously expanded and pinned high hopes on in recent years.
In fiscal year 2025, among its main subsidiaries engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of new membrane materials and new materials, Ailu New Energy and Aina New Energy posted net losses of 63.25 million yuan and 58.03 million yuan, respectively. The combined losses of the two new energy subsidiaries have almost swallowed up the entire profit margin of the group.
This downturn has even continued into the first quarter of 2026. The first quarter report shows that Shanghai Ailu achieved main business revenue of 268 million yuan in the first quarter, down 5.55% year-on-year; Net profit attributable to shareholders was -1.9777 million yuan, down 354.11% year-on-year; Net profit excluding non-recurring items was -3.7367 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1155.79%.
Under pressure on the main business and losses in new business, how to lead Shanghai Ailu out of the mire and turn losses into profits quickly became the first major test facing Chen Xueqi.
Capacity ramp-up and intelligent packaging are poised for growth
Although the financial statements are under short-term pressure, a closer look at Shanghai Alu's frontline production and customer ecosystem reveals that the packaging giant's core still demonstrates strong industrial resilience. Over the years, Shanghai Ailu has built integrated soft packaging solutions composed of industrial paper packaging, consumer goods paper packaging, plastic packaging, intelligent packaging systems, and new photovoltaic materials.
Its intelligent, flexible, and customized production capabilities have earned it an extremely solid customer loyalty in the industry, serving architectural coating giants such as Davco, Dongfang Yuhong, Meichao, Nippon Paint, and Sankeshu, as well as chemical giants like Waker Chemical and Shenyang Chemical. It has even crossed over into the supply chains of top domestic and international food and consumer goods companies such as Miaokelando, Cargill, Friesland, Orlan, and Nestlé. These high-barrier, high-quality client resources are Chen Xueqi's strongest support for turning the tide against adversity.
In fact, judging from the latest business progress in 2026, signs of recovery at the bottom have already emerged. According to the latest investor relations activity record, first, the company's previously invested industrial paper packaging expansion project officially began production in the second half of 2025. Although it is currently in a normal ramp-up phase for new capacity after commissioning and sales have not yet reached full capacity, order sales in the first quarter of 2026 are very good.
The decline in revenue in the first-quarter report was primarily due to short-term equipment relocation affecting production and delivery, resulting in some products not being confirmed for delivery in time during the quarter. As the relocation is sorted out, this backlog of orders will accelerate their release in the coming quarters.
Even more encouraging is the photovoltaic new materials business. So far, order intake in this segment has been good, and starting from April 2026, production lines have gradually reached full capacity. This means that the long-troubled new energy segment of the company is expected to see a performance inflection point this year.
At the same time, the "Intelligent Packaging System" segment, which is the core of the company's integrated solutions, is forming a strong synergy with the company's industrial paper packaging main business. Shanghai Ailu's wholly-owned subsidiary, Ruipai Packaging, is currently focusing on the new energy industry and has fully begun expanding in the intelligent packaging equipment market, simultaneously opening up both domestic and international markets.
From the diligent students of Tsinghua University, to comprehensive experience in foreign trade, logistics, and corporate secretary positions, and now being entrusted during a crisis, Chen Xueqi's succession not only carries the legacy of a family business but also represents the ambition of a new generation of Chinese packaging and printing professionals to use knowledge, technology, and capital to upgrade the industry.
In 2026, China's packaging industry is at a critical crossroads of intensified elimination competition. How the three major sectors-paper packaging with climbing capacity, ready-to-launch intelligent packaging systems, and photovoltaic new materials approaching full production-will synergize under Chen Xueqi's leadership to guide Shanghai Ailu through growing pains and back onto a path of growth is something we can only wait and see!