Quanjude, the famous chain of restaurants known around China for their trademark Peking roast duck, has recently suffered from a serious outflow of talent. After the president, general manager, secretary of the board and one executive all resigned in the same period of time, Quanjude suddenly found itself the subject of market speculation. 

After Quanjude announced the four resignations on July 10, rumors began swirling that the departures had something to do with McDonald’s selling its franchising rights in China. After McDonald’s announced the sale, Quanjude’s parent company quickly became one of the bidders.

Despite ongoing public speculation, Quanjude has so far declined to make a formal statement. However, the company has said that the senior executives’ resignations had nothing to do with the McDonald’s bidding, and they just happened to occur around the same time.

Moreover, the resignations of the four men do not signify that they are all completely leaving Quanjude. For example, 61-year-old former president Wang Zhiqiang remains an executive of the company, and he will continue to serve as secretary of the board. He is just no longer the legal representative and president of Quanjude.