A truly business-based handover in China, Zhang will soon oversee the gigantic Alibaba (BABA) empire – from e-commerce to food delivery to physical retail outlets.
Zhang, who took over as CEO in 2015 after joining the company in 2007, often leads investor calls for the group and is said to be among the brilliant minds behind Alibaba’s ‘Singles Day,’ – an annual event on November 11, often referred to as the world’s biggest online shopping fest. He has also been a very successful CEO, with the group adding a mammoth $200 billion to its market cap and boasting a 50% or higher growth in top line for the last nine quarters.
However, Zhang also gets to face new challenges as Chairman for Alibaba, as trade tension between China and the United States is at an all-time high.
However, investors look positive to this change, given that they hope Zhang encompasses what he told investors in the August earnings call: “Alibaba today is more like all-in-one.”
Jack Ma, who was all in praise of Zhang’s “analytical mind” think of the CEO as his worthy successor. While Zhang does not bring star power that is usually common with Eastern giants, this could be seen as a step in the right direction where the focus would be on Zhang as a CEO and Chairman, rather than the person himself.