Today, Alibaba officially launched the “Inheritance Plan”. The 54-year-old Ma Yun will step down as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alibaba on September 10, 2019, and will be replaced by the current CEO of Alibaba, Zhang Yong.
Born in 1972, Zhang Yong (Famous Xiaoyaozi) is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group and a member of the Board of Directors of Alibaba Group, one of the partners and founders of Alibaba. Zhang Yong also serves as a director of several listed companies in the US and Hong Kong, including Haier Electric, Intime Commercial Group and Weibo. In May 2015, Zhang Yong also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yintai Commercial Group. In September 2015, he also served as Chairman of Ali Sports Group.
This is the first time that a Chinese online company has truly “initiated the founder” and still controls the company’s overall shift.
After leaving office, Ma Yun will still serve on the Alibaba Board of Directors and continue to guide the company’s management. This is a plan that has been carefully prepared for 10 years, so that the younger generation can take over and solve the problem of corporate inheritance and development. It was not the “retirement” or “retirement” reported by the media.
In fact, it is like another boot finally landed. The previous one was when Ma Yun resigned as CEO of Alibaba Group in 2013. As a founder of a company that resign letter as CEO before the listing, it seems to be a predictable thing to completely shed out the day-to-day management and decision-making of the company. Ma Yun also said in an interview that he is spending more time and wealth on public welfare.
Every time Alibaba’s chief executive takes over, the legal representative will change.
In May 2013, on the 10th anniversary of Taobao, Ma Yun stepped down as CEO of Alibaba and was succeeded by Lu Zhaoyu. In April, the legal representative of the company was changed from Ma Yun to Lu Zhaoyu.
In May 2016, before COO Zhang Yong took over Lu Zhaoyu, the legal representative of Alibaba changed to Zhang Yong in April of that year.
In Alibaba’s 2018 annual report (20-F document) released on July 27 this year, it is detailed to complete the adjustment and improvement of the VIE structure by 2019. The core content of the adjustment is to reduce the personal of Ma Yun and Xie Shihuang. Control is controlled collectively by Alibaba partners and senior executives to circumvent “key person risks”.
In fact, Ma’s influence on Alibaba is everywhere, but there is no trace. In addition to his own charitable projects and meeting with other countries’ heads of state for Alibaba’s global trade platform, he almost completely disappeared into the public occasion of Alibaba’s daily business – the CEO of Alibaba Group, who is known as Xiaoyao Zi Yong has filled this role. The incumbent CEO has been the successor to Ma Yun for more than three years and is the initiator and leader of Alibaba’s “new retail” strategy.
At present, many businesses of Alibaba are led by a group of executives, Zhang Yong is the CEO.