In a significant leadership shake-up, Himanshu Tandon, Country Head of Poco India and a founding team member of the brand, has likely stepped down from his role at Poco. A report suggests that he is expected to join Nothing’s CMF division as the head and will lead the brand here in India.
As per an exclusive report by Moneycontrol, Tandon is stepping down as the head of POCO India and is expected to lead Nothing’s sub-brand CMF in the country. Tandon’s exit marks one of Xiaomi India’s most notable resignations in recent months—he follows the departure of Xiaomi India’s president Muralikrishnan B in November 2024. Known for spearheading Poco’s rapid growth in the Indian smartphone market, Tandon joined Xiaomi’s Poco sub‑brand in 2022 and played a crucial role in shaping its identity and offline expansion.
He is expected to start at Nothing in August 2025, taking charge of the CMF vertical—a strategic move to bolster design-led product development in India, an increasingly central market for the brand. Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis announced earlier this month that Nothing is moving CMF’s Global Marketing function to India.
“With CMF, we have a real opportunity to build something truly different and significant. This transition will help us move faster, stay closer, and build stronger foundations in CMF’s most important market – the one that will define its next phase of growth,” he said in an X post.
Read More: CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: Hitting The Right Spots (Mostly)
While Himanshu’s move to CMF could give the brand a significant boost, it comes as a major setback for Xiaomi, which has been steadily losing market share in India—Poco being the only sub-brand showing strong performance under its portfolio. Poco has emerged as a bright spot—accounting for roughly 41% of Xiaomi’s India shipments in Q2 of this year, with sales rising from 1.5 million units in Q1 to 2.03 million units in Q2.
Xiaomi wanted to refresh its image in the country and position itself as a premium brand rather than an affordable one, but that seems to have backfired for them. Reports suggest that it canceled the upcoming launch of Xiaomi 15 CIVI in India due to the poor sales of last year’s Xiaomi 14 CIVI, which started at Rs 42,999.
As for CMF, the brand is already doing well in the country with its recent launch of CMF Phone 2 Pro and other audio and wearable accessories. In general, Himanshu Tandon brings the experience of handling a smartphone brand in one of the most crowded price segments and that could prove as a game-changer for Nothing. Tandon is yet to confirm the news but if it’s true, Xiaomi will have even bigger problems to handle apart from its falling market share in India.