on Tuesday said its CEO and chairman Daniel Zhang will step down from the roles to focus on its cloud division as the Chinese e-commerce giant moves ahead with a plan to split into six business units.
The surprise reshuffle comes after a tumultuous two years that saw Alibaba heavily targeted by increased regulatory scrutiny and after the group announced in March that it would restructure into six units, each with their own boards and CEOs. “It would be inappropriate for me to continue serving as chairman and CEO of both companies at the same time during the spinoff process.”
Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell 1.5 per cent after the announcement, in line with a 1.6 per cent decline in the benchmark index, as analysts viewed the reshuffle as being in line with the overall restructuring previously announced. Cooke said he did not see the leadership changes as signalling a major strategic shift within Alibaba, given that the individuals are co-founders and close associates of Ma.