Xu Lei, VP of 360buy, leaves the company for "private reasons"

Xu joined the e-commerce company as marketing advisor in June 2007, and was promoted to the role of VP after six months. He took charge of the company's marketing and communications following his promotion.

Xu has also spent two years at Levono and five years at Allyes AdNetwork, an interactive marketing services provider focusing on internet advertising.

Founded in 2004 on a business model similar to that of Amazon.com, 360buy sells a broad range of products with a focus on electronics. In December 2010, it raised more than US$500 million from Wal-Mart and other investors. 

In the same month, the company launched an aggressive marketing campaign that slashed prices of books to 20 per cent lower than any other online book retailers. A development that forced the Nasdaq-listed Dangdang.com and Amazon's China operation Joyo.com to hand out millions of dollars' worth of coupons in response.