Alibaba announces new chairman, CEO in management reshuffle

Chinese tech heavyweight Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Tuesday that chairman and CEO Zhang Yong will step down from the current position starting Sept 10.

Joseph Tsai, currently Alibaba's executive vice-chairman, will succeed Zhang as the company's chairman, while Wu Yongming, chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, will succeed Zhang as CEO.

Zhang will continue to lead the branch Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as its chairman and CEO. He has been concurrently serving as Alibaba's CEO and chairman as well as the head of the Chinese tech giant's cloud unit since December.

"This is the right time for me to make a transition, given the importance of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as it progresses towards a full spin-off. I look forward to working closely with Joe and Eddie in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition," Zhang said in a letter to employees.

Looking ahead, Zhang said he is committed to strengthening Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group's market leadership by making cloud computing and artificial intelligence more accessible for businesses of all sizes and industries as they continue their digital transformation.

In addition to taking on the role of Alibaba's CEO, Wu Yongming will continue to serve as chairman of the wholly-owned subsidiary Taobao and Tmall Group.

Alibaba announced in March it would split its business into six main units, with each separate business having the flexibility to raise outside capital and seek its own initial public offering, the most significant organizational change to the company in its 24-year history.