Alibaba says Eddie Wu will succeed Daniel Chang as CEO in a surprise move

Alibaba Group said in a surprise announcement on Tuesday that Eddie Wu will succeed Daniel Zhang as its CEO.

This succession plan comes after China’s largest e-commerce company said in March that it would divide its company into six business groups. The company explained at the time that this would allow each business group to raise external financing and announce the most significant reorganization in its history.

“As everyone knows very well, the development of core technologies such as cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence will lead to a massive transformation of our society and will be of utmost strategic importance,” Zhang said in an internal note to Alibaba employees.

“Cloud Intelligence Group is now at full speed with its spin-off plans and we are approaching a crucial stage in the operation, so it is time to devote my full attention and time to the business,” he added.

Alibaba shares pared losses after the announcement and are trading down 1% in Hong Kong.

The company also announced that Zhou Cai will replace Zhang as Group President. Zhang will continue to lead the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as chairman and chief executive officer after the change, which the company said will become effective Sept. 1. 10.

Other than cloud intelligence, the other five business units include Taobao Tmall business; a local services arm focused on food delivery and mapping; Cainiao Intelligent Logistics Company; its global e-commerce businesses including AliExpress and Lazada; and its digital media and entertainment businesses.

“From a corporate governance perspective, we also need a clear separation between the board of directors and the management team as Cloud Intelligence Group forges its path to becoming an independent public company,” Zhang added in the internal memo.

Wu, Zhang’s successor, is a co-founder of Alibaba and is currently chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group. Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, is currently the executive vice president of Alibaba.

Wu has held several roles in his time at the company, including chief technology officer at Alibaba’s start-up, as well as chief technology officer at Alipay and Taobao. He was also a director of Alibaba Health Information Technology, and founded Vision Plus Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in advanced technologies, enterprise services, and digital healthcare.

Zhang He, CEO of Alibaba Group since 2015 and Chairman of the Board since 2019, took over both positions from founder Jack Ma.

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