Qi Ji is the founder of Huazhu and has also served as the executive chairman of the board since February 2007.
He also served as chief executive officer until August 2009. He resumed his CEO role from January 2012 to May 2015. He co-founded Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc., or Home Inns, and served as its chief executive officer from January 2001 to January 2005. He co-founded Ctrip.com International, Ltd., or Ctrip.com, one of the largest online travel services provider in China, in 1999, acted as its chief executive officer and president until December 2001, and currently serves on Ctrip.com's board as an independent director. Prior to founding Ctrip.com, Mr. Ji was the chief executive officer of Shanghai Sunflower High-Tech Group, which he founded in 1997. He headed the East China Division of Beijing Zhonghua Yinghua Intelligence System Co., Ltd. from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Ji received both his Master's and Bachelor's degrees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.