Daniel Zhang intends to resign from his positions as chairman and chief executive of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which is undergoing a leadership shakeup.
Joseph Tsai, the current executive vice chairman of Alibaba 9988, -0.95% BABA, -0.11%, will become chairman on September 10, the Chinese e-commerce colossus announced on Tuesday.
Eddie Yongming Wu, the current chairman of Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Group e-commerce divisions, will become the company’s CEO on September 10 and replace Zhang on Alibaba’s board of directors.
Zhang intends to remain at Alibaba and will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of the company’s cloud intelligence division. As part of a broader strategy to unlock value from its extensive enterprise, Alibaba previously disclosed its intention to spin off its cloud business.
In Hong Kong, shares of Alibaba declined 1.6%.
“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,” Zhang said in Tuesday’s press release.
He highlighted “the emergence of generative AI,” which “has also created exciting new opportunities that Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group is well positioned to seize.”
Since 2019, when co-founder Jack Ma resigned from that position, Zhang has been Alibaba’s chairman. He has been the CEO of the corporation since 2015.
Alibaba is undergoing a major restructuring after announcing earlier this year that it would reorganize into six business divisions with the ability to raise capital and pursue initial public offerings if desired.
Alibaba has evolved into a massive enterprise with footholds in international commerce, logistics, food delivery, and more, but investors may come to value some of those entities better on their own, according to recent speculation.
