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Jack Ma finally sets date to quit Alibaba
News & Trends •
the group has the ability to nominate the majority of directors on the companys board1 jack ma the co-founder of chinas largest e-commerce firm alibaba group holding ltd will step down as chairman in exactly one year on sept. 10 2019 the company said1 ma who turned 54 on monday relinquished the role of chief executive in 2013. zhang 46 has been in the job since 2015 after serving as chief operating officer and is known as a key architect of alibabas singles day the nov. 11 event that has become the worlds largest online shopping event1 under his stewardship alibaba has seen consistent and sustainable growth for 13 consecutive quarters starting the process of passing the alibaba torch to daniel and his team is the right decision at the right time ma said in a letter released by the company1 zhang will also retain the ceo title the company said1 ma who co-founded alibaba in 1999 is one of chinas richest people with a net worth of 36.6 billion according to forbes. the company has grown to have more than 66000 full-time employees and a market value of some 420 billion1 ma said that after he steps down from his current roles he will continue to mentor management as part of the alibaba partnership a 36-member group of core company managers1 current alibaba chief executive daniel zhang will replace him as chairman while ma will complete his current term on alibabas board of directors following the companys annual general meeting in 20201 a former english teacher with no technical background ma has a large popular following in china and is seen as an icon of self-made wealth1 he is also known for his eccentric personality and has donned wigs and costumes to perform highly choreographed pop routines at company events. last year he starred alongside chinese action star jet li in a short kung fu film1 since handing over the ceo role ma has concentrated on philanthropy and promoting alibaba internationally at business and political events1 last year ma invested 300 million yuan 45 million in a rural education project in china. he has also established a scholarship program in newcastle australia1 ma who also controls alibaba payment affiliate ant financial [antfin.ul] is stepping back amid more challenging times for chinese tech companies as sales growth in chinas eastern mega-cities shows signs of slowing1 alibaba maintained robust revenue growth in the first half of 2018 but its profit margins have been squeezed by big-ticket investments as it battles to maintain pole position in payments and e-commerce1