Former CEO of China's Alibaba quits cloud business in surprise move during its leadership reshuffle
The former CEO of Alibaba has resigned as head of its cloud computing business in a surprise move as the Chinese e-commerce empire wraps up a leadership reshuffle
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The former CEO of Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, resigned as head of its cloud computing unit Monday in a surprise move as the Chinese e-commerce empire wraps up a leadership reshuffle.
Alibaba said it will invest $1 billion in a technology fund Zhang will establish to support the firm’s strategies for future growth.
Zhang stepped down on the same day he gave up his roles as Alibaba’s CEO and chairman.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Alibaba said that Eddie Wu, its new CEO, will also head its cloud unit. Wu and Alibaba’s new chairman Joseph Tsai assumed their new roles by Monday, with Alibaba saying it has “completed its leadership transition.”
Alibaba expressed its “deepest appreciation” to Zhang for his contributions to the company over the past 16 years.
Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock price was down 3.6% Monday following the announcement.
In an internal letter dated Sunday and viewed by the AP, Tsai wrote that Zhang had “expressed his wish to transition away from his role” as chief of the cloud business, and the Alibaba board had “respected and accepted Daniel’s decision.”
“Daniel will continue to contribute to Alibaba by channeling his expertise differently,” Tsai wrote.
Alibaba has been restructuring itself into six business units with the aim of eventually spinning most of them off and listing them to maximize shareholder returns.
In May, the company said it aimed for its cloud unit to be listed within the next 12 months. It reaffirmed that plan on Monday.
Zhang joined Alibaba in 2007 and is known for creating the company’s annual Singles Day online shopping extravaganza. In 2015, he took over from co-founder Jack Ma as Alibaba's CEO. In 2019 he succeeded Ma as chairman.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.