Microsoft veteran will help run Chinese search giant Baidu

Beijing

BAIDU Inc has appointed former Microsoft Corp executive Qi Lu its group president and chief operating officer, granting the software industry veteran oversight over all aspects of the Chinese search giant's business from sales to technology development.

Mr Lu, an architect of chief executive officer Satya Nadella's strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) and bots at Microsoft, will take up his new post with immediate effect, Baidu said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.