Jack Ma To Step Down From Alibaba in September 2019
Over the weekend the rumour mill was running wild again this time out in the east regarding the future of Jack Ma and Alibaba.
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Numerous news outlets across the globe were speculating that Ma would be stepping down as early as today (Monday 10th September 2018) however this is not the case.
In a letter to both customers and shareholders Jack Ma has stated that he plans to step down from his duties as executive chairman in a years time taking us to September 2019.
What Does This Mean For Alibaba?
Well the good news is that there isn’t going to be a rushed handover as some had speculated but instead with a year to plan and prepare for Jack Ma to hand over the reigns their shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
On top of that his replacement will be Daniel Zhang the current Chief Executive and the mastermind behind the incredibly popular Alibaba Singles’ Day promotion.
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,” Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba
Jack Ma’s letter to the board came on his 54th birthday and that seemed to be at the core of his decision to take this step away from Alibaba.
“The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things…The one thing I can promise everyone is this: Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba.” Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba
This could be a big blow to lose Jack Ma in the future but his successor looks more than capable of carrying the torch that he lit. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below or over in our Facebook Group.
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Dave Furness
Dave is a Co-Founder of eSeller365. For over 10 years he has been involved with eCommerce with a particular interest in the marketplaces and the huge opportunities available for sellers when utilizing a multi-channel strategy. After a year of being the UK’s youngest eCommerce consultant, he built an education platform called UnderstandingE that showed the world how to utilize Magento as the “Third Generation of Multi-Channel software”.
Dave has also created a YouTube channel dedicated to entrepreneurship and eCommerce as well as a podcast dedicated to mental health awareness. When Dave isn’t working his main interests include learning and playing Chess, researching the Crypto and NFT space, and trying to find the nearest beach.