Alibaba's Jack Ma to retire next year, Daniel Zhang to succeed
Bengaluru/Beijing, Sep 10: Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack Ma will step down in September 2019 and hand over the reins to Chief Executive Daniel Zhang, the Chinese e-commerce giant said on Monday.
Ma, who co-founded the company almost 20 years ago which now is the world's biggest e-commerce behemoths, said in a letter to his employees that "transition demonstrates that Alibaba has stepped up from a company that relies on individuals, to one built on a culture of talent development".
Ma, who was a school teacher in China's small town of Hangzhou where Alibaba is headquartered and now one of the richest men in the world, will get to back to education, the billionaire said in a letter to his employees.
On the company's 20th anniversary on September 10, 2019, Zhang will take charge as the new chairman.
The development comes days after his imminent retirement in a report by the New York Times, juked by the company.
"Ma will continue as the executive chairman of the company over the next 12 months to ensure a smooth transition to Zhang," a statement from the firm said.
Ma's net worth is $36.6 billion.
Zhang, who was earlier the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Taobao, an online shopping portal owned by the Alibaba Group, was appointed the CEO of the group in 2015. He has been with the company since 2007.
The co-founder of the company, Ma, will however, remain as a board member of the Alibaba Group until the annual shareholder meet in 2020, which marks the 21st anniversary of the e-commerce and tech conglomerate.
"While remaining as executive chairman in the next 12 months, I will work closely with Daniel (Zhang) to ensure smooth transition," Ma said in a letter to the shareholders and employees on the occasion of the company's 19th anniversary on Monday.
The transition demonstrates that Alibaba has stepped up from a company that relies on individuals, to one built on a culture of talent development, Ma's letter addressed to the company's 86,000 employees said.
Ma, who turned 54, will remain a lifetime partner in the Alibaba Partnership and is a member of its partnership committee, the statement added.
The Alibaba Partnership has 36 partners, who are the senior management of Alibaba Group or its affiliates, including movie-making firm Alibaba Pictures, cloud computing firm Alibaba Cloud, financial services firm Ant Financial among others.
Founded in 1999, Alibaba stands among one of the largest companies in the world.
"I want to return to education, which excites me with so much blessing because this is what I love to do. The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things," the Chinese business icon's letter added.
The group's e-tail portals Alibaba.com, Taobao, Tmall and AliExpress together clock billions of dollars of sales each year.
As per its statement, the company's revenue was $39.9 billion for fiscal 2017-18.
During the company's annual global shopping festival held on November 11 last year, the firm made a whopping $25 billion worth sales in a 24-hour period across its e-commerce platforms.
Apart from its online shopping portals, Alibaba also offers electronic payment services and cloud computing services.
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Plea in Madras HC calls for SIT/ED/CBI probe into Gautam Adani's indictment in US bribery case
Chennai: A plea has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking the establishment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or directions to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the corruption charges against Indian businessman Gautam Adani. The plea follows Adani’s indictment by the United States Department of Justice in the Eastern District of New York on bribery charges.
Filed by Advocate and Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi President ML Ravi, the plea alleges that Adani, along with other businessmen and power distribution companies in India, was involved in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials. The bribes were reportedly aimed at securing lucrative solar energy contracts with Indian entities. According to the US Department of Justice, Adani’s group paid USD 265 million in bribes, primarily to officials in Andhra Pradesh, to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2001 and 2023.
Ravi criticised the Indian authorities for their silence on the matter, despite the exposure of the corruption by foreign agencies. He argued that the lack of action by Indian investigation agencies undermines public trust and hinders national development. He called for a thorough investigation to uncover the full extent of the allegations, asserting that public officials had abused their power for personal gain, in violation of their duties.
