Zhang Yaqin, president of Chinese internet search giant Baidu, will retire from the company in October.

The tech heavyweight plans to install more of the post-1980s and 90s generation in senior management, announcing a retirement plan for senior executives on Friday.

Robin Li, chairman and CEO of Baidu, said in internal letter that Zhang made great contributions to the company in the past five years.

Zhang was appointed president of Baidu in charge of new business in September, 2014.

Prior to joining Baidu Zhang held a number of key positions in his 15-year tenure at Microsoft.

He once served as Microsoft's corporate vice-president and chairman of the company's Asia R&D Group, leading overall research and development efforts in Asia-Pacific.

The department is the company's largest research and development establishment outside the United States, with over 3,000 scientists and engineers.