Alibaba chairman Jack Ma steps down
Alibaba chairman Jack Ma will retire from the Chinese e-commerce giant today, marking the occasion with a huge farewell party.
Ma co-founded the business, which has become one of the world’s biggest internet firms, 20 years ago in Hangzhou in eastern China.
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The entrepreneur will hand the reins over to Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang at a leaving party at the 80,000-capacity Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre stadium.
Ma’s leadership has seen Alibaba become Asia’s most valuable listed company with a market capitalisation of $460bn and more than 100,000 employees.
Analysts have said Zhang’s major challenge as chairman will be finding new growth areas as China’s e-commerce sector matures. The firm has also struggled internationally.
“He [Zhang] has the logic and critical thinking skills of a super computer, a commitment to his vision, the courage to wholeheartedly dare to take on innovative business models and industries of the future,” Ma said in a statement announcing Zhang’s appointment last year.
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Last week the firm announced investments totalling $2.7bn in Kaola, a luxury goods retail platform, and a music streaming firm, as it attempted to adopt new strategies.
Ma is expected to continue to mentor management and will remain a member of Alibaba’s partnership, a corporate governing group separate from the board of directors.
Main image credit: Getty