LQR House Appoints Leo Chen CEO Amid Strategic Pivot

LQR House Inc. appointed Leo Chen as Chief Executive Officer on October 16, 2026, following the resignation of founder Sean Dollinger. The leadership change marks a total strategic pivot for the company, which is shifting its core operations from wine and spirits e-commerce to serving as a cross-border securities trading intermediary.

This new direction centers on the company's acquisition of Fusion Five Continents Securities in New Zealand and a technology agreement with ByteDance to utilize AI compute for quantitative research. Leo Chen will lead the development of an AI-enabled brokerage platform that integrates portfolio analytics, financial research, and investment execution.

As part of the transition, the company is divesting its original business model by transferring its online spirits operations to a company owned by outgoing Chief Financial Officer Kumar Abhishek. Sean Dollinger stated that the company's new direction requires a leader whose experience is more closely aligned with these specific financial and technological areas.