Alibaba Embraces Management Reshuffle with Two Veterans as New Chairman and CEO

BEIJING, June 21 (TiPost)— Alibaba Group Holding Limited began to shake up management following the most important reorganization in its history of more than two decades.

Source: Visual China

Alibaba appointed Joseph C. Tsai, the Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba to serve as the Chairman, and Eddie Yongming Wu, Chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from September 10. The current Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang, or Zhang Yong, will continue to lead Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group (Alibaba Cloud) as the division’s Chairman and CEO, according to a statement on Tuesday.

As the CEO for eight years, Daniel Zhang was a successor of Jack Ma, Alibaba’s cofounder, as the Chairperson since September, 2019. It’s the right time for me to make a transition as Alibaba Cloud plays a key role in processing forward a full spin-off, Zhang said. He vowed to strengthen the cloud unit’s market leadership by making cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) more accessible for businesses of all sizes and industries, adding AI “has also opened up exciting new opportunities that Alibaba Cloud is well-positioned to capture."

Both Joseph Tsai and Eddie Yongming Wu are Alibaba’s cofounders. Tsai served as the director since the company founded in 1999, and took the position of Chief Financial Officer from the inception to 2013, and led the Chinese internet giant to go public in New York in 2014. He was named as the Chairman of Cainiao Smart Logistics, one of six Alibaba’s new divisions, in May. Wu used to be the chief technology officer of Alipay and Taobao in 2004 and 2005 respectively, and then took the role of leader of Alibaba’s search, advertaising and mobile business in October, 2011. He was named as the Chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, another new division, since May.

Alibaba announced in late March to split into six business groups, including Alibaba Cloud, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Global Digital Commerce Group, Digital Media and Entertainment Group. Five of these major business groups will have the flexibility to raise external capital and potentially to seek its own IPO, with the exception of Taobao & Tmall Group, which will remain wholly-owned by Alibaba Group. Daniel Zhang called the move “the most significant governance overhaul” in Alibaba’s history and said each business group is fully responsible for its performance, with financial independence.

Alibaba’s board of directors approved last month a full spin-off of the Cloud Intelligence Group via a stock dividend distribution to shareholders, aiming to complete the breakup in the next 12 months and make the group an independent publicly listed firm.

Listing plans about two other business groups also got the nod from Alibaba’s board. Freshippo, a grocery stores operator under the China commerce segment, is approved to execute an IPO, and expected to be completed in the next 6 to 12 months. Cainiao Smart Logistics, a group provides supply chain, logistics and delivery services that Alibaba holds a 67% stakes in, is approved to explore an IPO with the target to complete the deal in the next 12 to 18 months.

“Alibaba is carrying out its reform smoothly and steadily, as a new business cluster of 1+6+N has basically emerged, and boards of each business group has started their operation, listing and financing plans of various businesses have also been launched. Alibaba Group will mainly act as a base for innovations and their incubation,” Daniel Zhang wrote in his letter to employees on Tuesday.