Diana Li (CFP)	Alan Qunzhao Tan (CFP)

Diana Li, CEO of Shanda Games Ltd., China's second largest online game operator, had resigned to pursue other interests, and Alan Qunzhao Tan will assume the duties of both board chairman and CEO of the company after Li's departure, the company said on January 22.

The NASDAQ-listed Shanda Games was spun off from Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a Shanghai-based digital entertainment portal, in a $1-billion initial public offering last September.

Li, one of the first female executives in China's online game industry, has served as CEO of Shanda Games since April 2008. She is thought to be starting up a business with her husband.

Tan is a co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment and became chairman of the Board of Shanda Games in May 2009. He served as president and chief technology officer of Shanda Interactive from April 2008 to January 2010.