Global Courant
The logo of the Alibaba office building is seen in the center of Huangpu District in Shanghai, China, 16 June 2023.
Cost photo | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Alibaba Group said in a surprise announcement Tuesday that Eddie Wu will succeed Daniel Zhang as CEO.
The succession plan comes after China’s largest e-commerce company said in March it will split its company into six business groups. The company explained at the time that this will allow any business group to raise outside financing and go public in the most sweeping reorganization in the Chinese e-commerce giant’s history.
“As everyone knows, the development of core technologies such as cloud computing, big data and AI will lead to a massive transformation of our society and is of utmost strategic importance,” Zhang said in an internal memo to Alibaba staff.
“Cloud Intelligence Group is now full steam ahead with its spin-off plans and we are approaching a critical stage of the process, so it is the right time for me to dedicate my full attention and time to the company,” he added .
The company also announced that Joe Tsai will take Zhang’s place as chairman of the group. Zhang will continue to lead the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as chairman and CEO following this change, which the company says will take effect on September 10.
Aside from cloud intelligence, the other five business units include the Taobao Tmall business; the local services branch that focuses on food delivery and mapping; Cainiao Smart logistics company; its global e-commerce business, including AliExpress and Lazada; and its digital media and entertainment business.
“From a corporate governance perspective, we also need a clear separation between the board of directors and the management team as Cloud Intelligence Group embarks on the path of becoming an independent public company,” Zhang added in the internal memo.
Zhang’s successor Wu is one of the co-founders of Alibaba and currently chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group. Brooklyn Nets owner Tsai is currently the Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba.
Wu has held a variety of positions during his time with the company, including chief technology officer in the founding of Alibaba, as well as chief technology officer at Alipay and Taobao. He also served as a director of Alibaba Health Information Technology and founded Vision Plus Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investments in advanced technologies, business services and digital healthcare.
Zhang has been CEO of Alibaba Group since 2015 and Chairman since 2019, taking over both positions from founder Jack Ma.
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