Lu to step up as Alibaba CEO

Alibaba Group, China's leading e-commerce company, announced Monday that a senior executive will replace Ma Yun as the group's CEO, ushering in a new era for the company.

Lu Zhaoxi, Alibaba's executive vice president and chief data officer, will be the group's next CEO. He will take over on May 10, the 10th anniversary of the group's launch of taobao.com, the country's largest C2C online platform.

"Lu and I have worked together for 13 years. He is passionate for and familiar with the group's businesses, he has participated in building Alibaba's culture and organization and in cultivating many talented people, and he also has a unique leadership style and charisma," Ma wrote in an e-mail to employees Monday.

Ma, 48, Alibaba's founder and CEO, said he will remain Alibaba Group's full-time chairman after he steps down. Ma made the decision on January 15 to pass the reins after 14 years of leadership.

Lu said Alibaba employees must remember to put the customer first and to share the group's resources with the whole society with openness and transparency.

Lu, 44, began working at Alibaba in early 2000 as the founder of B2B platform alibaba.com's Guangdong sales team.

He went on to become, successively, founding president of online payment service provider Alipay, president of Taobao, CEO of alibaba.com, Alibaba group's chief data officer, and president of Aliyun Mobile OS.

"Only Lu Zhaoxi has served as the top leader of Alipay, Taobao and Alibaba B2B, making him familiar with all divisions of the business with support from all ranks of Alibaba employees. He is in the prime of his life and his low-profile personality gained Ma's trust," Lu Zhenwang, founder of Shanghai Wanqing Commerce Consulting, told the Global Times Monday.

Lu Zhenwang has been positive on Lu Zhaoxi since Ma said in January he would pass the post to a younger leader.

Independent e-commerce analyst Li Chengdong said Taobao and data service will be the future focuses of Alibaba, and Lu Zhaoxi's rich experience in those arenas means he fits in well with Ma's dreams.