Guizhou Moutai's "face of the brand" has fallen apart

On the afternoon of March 13, a notice from the Guizhou Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Committee put Guizhou Moutai under intense scrutiny.

The notice stated that Jiang Yan, a member of the Party Committee, Deputy General Manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Secretary of the Board of Guizhou Moutai Co., Ltd., is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation. On the same day, Guizhou Moutai announced that Jiang Yan had been placed under detention by the Zunyi City Supervisory Committee.

Looking at Jiang Yan’s background, this female executive holding three key positions at Moutai is not only a core builder of Moutai’s vast financial empire but also the “official face” of this trillion-yuan enterprise in the capital market.

Image / Visual China

Builder of Moutai’s Financial Empire

Public information shows that Jiang Yan was born in 1977, holds a Bachelor of Law and a Master of Business Administration, and her career can be clearly divided into two main phases: banking and Moutai.

In 2001, Jiang Yan joined the Guizhou branch of the Bank of China, serving in roles including accountant, corporate credit, legal compliance, and risk internal control; in 2012, she participated in the establishment of the Industrial Bank Guizhou branch, serving as Deputy General Manager of Business Development. In October of the same year, Jiang Yan joined Moutai Group, beginning a more than ten-year deep association with Moutai.

Within the Moutai system, Jiang Yan’s trajectory clearly points to a core mission: to build and operate a modern industrial financial platform for this white liquor giant with astonishing cash flow. She led the establishment of Guizhou Moutai Group Financial Co., Ltd., serving as Risk Director. This company is also known as Moutai’s “internal bank.”

Starting in 2014, she led the establishment and managed Moutai Jianxin (Guizhou) Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. and Moutai (Shanghai) Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. The former is an important platform for Moutai’s external industrial investments, while the latter provides financial services to upstream and downstream of the industry chain.

In March 2021, she also served as Vice Chairman of Guiyang Guoyin Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. In November 2021, Jiang Yan was appointed Deputy General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Guizhou Moutai, also acting as Secretary of the Board. She was officially appointed as Secretary in January of the following year. At this point, she held four roles simultaneously: Deputy General Manager, CFO, Secretary of the Board, and Chairwoman of the Group’s core financial platform.

In August 2025, Guizhou Moutai issued a “Risk Assessment Report on Guizhou Moutai Group Financial Co., Ltd.” The report showed that the financial company had a registered capital of 2.5 billion yuan, with main businesses including accepting deposits from member units, granting loans, and bill discounting.

As of June 30, 2025, the company’s total assets reached 148.274 billion yuan, total liabilities 136.998 billion yuan, owner’s equity 11.276 billion yuan, with operating income of 1.704 billion yuan and net profit of 634 million yuan.

Additionally, the financial company’s capital adequacy ratio was 23.87%, far above the regulatory standard of 10.5%. Non-performing asset and non-performing loan ratios were both 0. No deposits in Guizhou Moutai’s financial company amounted to 19.227 billion yuan, with no loan business and no delayed payments.

Secretaries of the Board Rarely Under Investigation

The reason Jiang Yan’s investigation has drawn intense market attention is primarily due to her unique role as “Secretary of the Board.”

The Secretary of the Board is not merely a “secretary” in name. According to Company Law and capital market regulations, the Secretary is a senior management position mandated by law, serving as the official communication window between the company and the capital market—including regulators, stock exchanges, investors, and media.

Wu Gangliang, researcher at the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association, told China News Weekly that the company secretary is responsible for preparing shareholder and board meetings, managing documents, handling shareholder information, disclosure of information, and investor relations. They are essentially the “face” of the company.

In the A-share market, despite frequent executive changes—over 800 secretaries left their positions in 2025 alone—the number of secretaries suspected of serious violations and placed under detention by supervisory authorities is very small.

According to incomplete statistics from China News Weekly, since 2022, at least five listed company secretaries have been detained or investigated by supervisory departments, with Jiang Yan possibly being the sixth. In comparison, cases involving chairmen or actual controllers being investigated are more common.

Wu Gangliang observed that recent disclosures of secretaries under detention in A-shares often involve financial fraud, information disclosure violations, and unfair related-party transactions—mostly related to compliance and internal controls, rather than personal corruption. However, the risks to the company are significant.

He further explained that while the chairman bears primary responsibility for information disclosure, the secretary is responsible for organizing and coordinating disclosure matters and has key knowledge of internal control processes, making them closer to daily governance details. “If the secretary gets into trouble, it could mean lapses in the company’s information disclosure, financial management, and board operations.”

It is still uncertain how much impact Jiang Yan’s investigation will have on the company’s daily operations.

Guizhou Moutai emphasized in yesterday’s announcement: “The company’s directors and other senior management are performing their duties normally, production and operations are proceeding in an orderly manner, and the matters announced will not have a significant impact on the company’s production and management. Currently, the Chairman, Chen Hua, is acting as Secretary of the Board.”

Reporter: Yu Yuan

Editor: Chen Yanni