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Alibaba chief executive and chairman Daniel Zhang has announced that he will be stepping down from his role to lead the company’s computing service arm.
Following this transition, Zhang will continue to lead Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as its chairman and chief executive officer.
Zhang has been with the firm since 2007 and took up the CEO position in May 2015.
Additionally, the group has appointed Joseph C. Tsai, currently executive vice chairman, as its new chairman.
Eddie Yongming Wu, chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, will succeed Zhang as chief executive officer and replace Zhang on the company’s board of directors.
Both appointments will take effect on September 10, 2023.
Zhang said: “It has been an incredible honour and privilege to lead Alibaba Group as CEO over the past eight years and chairman over the past four years. This is the right time for me to make a transition, given the importance of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as it progresses towards a full spin-off. I look forward to working closely with Joe and Eddie in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition,”
“Looking ahead, I am committed to strengthening Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group’s market leadership by making cloud computing and artificial intelligence more accessible for businesses of all sizes and industries as they continue their digital transformation. The emergence of generative AI has also opened up exciting new opportunities that Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group is well-positioned to capture.”
Tsai added: “Daniel has made exceptional contributions to the development of Alibaba Group since joining the company in 2007, and he demonstrated extraordinary leadership in navigating unprecedented uncertainties affecting our business over the past few years. We believe there is no better leader than Daniel to steer Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group into the next chapter of its journey and future growth.”
Wu concluded: “Over the past 24 years, Alibaba has consistently innovated through evolution and breakthroughs from within, and each transformation has catalysed new growth. While our current transformation brings in a new corporate organisational and governance structure, Alibaba’s mission remains unchanged. We will continue to enable individuals and businesses to benefit from the digital economy and serve our customers with unique value propositions supported by innovation and our leading technology.”
