Jack Ma, the executive chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has announced plans to step down in 12 months’ time.
According to reports, Ma made his decision known in a letter to Alibaba’s customer, employees, and shareholders while also stating that Daniel Zhang, the current Chief Executive Officer at Alibaba, will succeed him as the Chairman of the Alibaba Board of Directors in 2019.
According to Iafrikan, the announcement comes after several days of speculation started by the New York Times which stated that Ma was set to announce his immediate retirement from all his positions at Alibaba on his 54th birthday, 10 September 2018.
Mr. Zhang will however become the executive chairman on 10 September 2019, the company said in a statement.
The one year handover period is aimed at achieving a “smooth and successful transition”.
Mr. Ma, previously an English teacher, co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has seen it become one of the world’s biggest internet companies.
“Teachers always want their students to exceed them, so the responsible thing to do for me and the company to do is to let younger, more talented people take over in leadership roles,” Mr. Ma said in the letter, released on his 54th birthday.
Mr. Ma, one of China’s richest men explained that the decision for Zhang to succeed him had already been approved by the company’s Board and will see Zhang take over as Chairman on 10 September 2019.
Mr. Ma, who has a current net worth of $36.6bn (£28.34bn), will remain a director on Alibaba’s board until its annual shareholder meeting in 2020. He is a permanent member of the Alibaba Partnership.
The incoming chairman, Zhang joined Alibaba in 2007 and was subsequently appointed as Chief Executive Officer during May 2015. When he joined Alibaba in 2007, it was as the Chief Financial Officer of Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace.
Alibaba listed in New York in 2014 in what was then the world’s biggest initial public offering of shares.
It reported revenues of $39.9bn for the fiscal year ended March 2018.
