Canaan named James Jin Cheng chief financial officer effective immediately on Aug. 2, 2021, the company announced from Beijing1. Canaan's release described itself as "a leading high-performance computing solutions provider" and named Cheng to the finance seat on the same day it went out. Forkast News reported the following day that the appointment followed "the resignation of his predecessor in February"2.
Three of Canaan's 7 leadership moves on the record came in 2021
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Canaan, by year
- 2021: 3
- 2020: 4
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 3 |
27 executive hires on the record in 2021
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 27
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
The move
Cheng came to Canaan with more than 20 years in financial planning and management, the company's release said1. He had spent close to six years as a vice president at Zhaopin.com, a China-based career platform once listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Before that he worked finance jobs at two bigger names. He was a finance director at Lenovo's China and Asia Pacific division. Earlier still, he held senior controller roles at Nokia China.
Nangeng Zhang, Canaan's chairman and chief executive officer, welcomed Cheng by name in the announcement. “On behalf of the Company and the board, I would like to extend a warm welcome to James. His extensive experience and integrated expertise in finance and capital markets, as well as his in-depth insights into the electronics industry, will add great value to the Company,” Zhang said1. Forkast's report measured the hire against the five-month gap since the prior CFO's resignation2.
Finance at Canaan, before and after
Canaan had gone five months with the chief financial officer seat empty. Forkast measured that span from the predecessor's resignation in February 2021 to Cheng's Aug. 2 start2. Cheng's prior employers, Zhaopin, Lenovo and Nokia, sit outside crypto and mining. Each is a general technology or staffing business, by the company's own account of his career1. Canaan's release stopped short of detailing any change Cheng would make to the finance operation.
What came next
Cheng still held the chief financial officer title nearly five years later. Canaan's annual report for fiscal year 2025, filed with the SEC on April 15, 2026, listed "James Jin Cheng" as chief financial officer and said he "has served as our chief financial officer since August 2021"3. The same filing said he had since been admitted as an international affiliate of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants in February 2024, one credential added during the tenure that began with the 2021 appointment.
Sources
- Canaan Inc., "Canaan Announces Appointment of Chief Financial Officer," PR Newswire, Aug. 2, 2021, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canaan-announces-appointment-of-chief-financial-officer-301345940.html
- Ningwei Qin, "Crypto mining rig maker Canaan names new CFO," Forkast News, Aug. 3, 2021, https://forkast.news/crypto-mining-rig-maker-canaan-new-cfo/
- Canaan Inc., Form 20-F, SEC, filed April 15, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1780652/000110465926043786/can-20251231x20f.htm