Jack Ma says he's not about to retire from Alibaba but that he plans a gradual succession – TechCrunch

Jack Ma reports the impending retirement is greatly exaggerated, it seems. Ma, the co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, rebuffed claims that he was about to leave China's $ 420 billion e-commerce company.

The New York Times first stated that the contractor planned to announce that he would leave the firm to pursue philanthropic activities in the field of education, a topic he is passionate about – Ma is a former teacher. But this news was quickly refuted after Ma granted an interview to the South China Morning Post – the media company bought by Alibaba in 2016 – in which he explained his intention to retire gradually from the company through a succession plan.

When Alibaba received a comment, he told TechCrunch to report from SCMP, which claims that Ma's strategy "will provide [leadership] transition plans over a significant period of time. "

In other words, Ma does not abruptly leave the company, but it seems that her role will be gradually reduced over time. Alibaba has confirmed that he will remain a member of the company during the execution of the succession plan. The exact details will be announced on Ma's birthday, September 10th.

This transition is not a new development. Ma abandoned his daily role when he went from CEO to President in 2013. Speaking at that time, he said that he would remain active and that it was "impossible" for him to take his retirement, but he conceded that young people should run the business.

This is exactly what happened in previous years.

Jonathan Lu, a 13-year veteran from Alibaba, stepped into Ma's shoes as CEO. He led Alibaba when he went public on a record $ 25 billion IPO in 2015, but he was replaced in 2015 by Daniel Zhang after losing Ma's trust. former Chief Operating Officer, Zhang, runs the business today, although Ma's presence remains very important and he is particularly involved in political affairs. This includes a meeting with US President Donald Trump and various activities with national leaders in markets such as Southeast Asia, where Alibaba sought to capitalize on the colossal size of its business for its part. to invest in emerging markets. increase.

"I sat down with our senior executives 10 years ago and asked what Alibaba would do without me," Ma said in an interview. "I am very proud that Alibaba now has the structure, the corporate culture, the governance and the talent training system that allow me to retire without causing disruption."