Jack Ma says not quitting yet only unveiling succession plan
News & Trends •
his own worth has soared along with that of the company which has added cloud computing films and e-payments to its growing portfolio and was valued at 420.8 billion when the stock market closed on friday1 alibaba co-founder and chairman jack ma will not step aside on monday as widely reported he will only unveil a succession plan the south china morning post reported sunday1 the new york times ran an article on friday based on an interview with ma saying the former teacher turned billionaire planned to use his birthday to announce his retirement as chairman of alibaba to focus on philanthropy1 the paper quoted ma as saying the decision was the beginning of an era1 but an alibaba spokesman told the scmp that the new york times story was taken out of context and factually wrong1 an alibaba spokesman said ma remains the companys executive chairman and will provide transition plans over a significant period of time the scmp wrote1 the paper added that the monday succession strategy was part of a plan for grooming a generation of younger executives to take over the reins of the company1 eileen murphy a spokesperson for the new york times said the newspaper stood by its story1 ma was an english teacher before starting alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus becoming one of the worlds richest men and a revered figure in his homeland1 the scmp which is owned by alibaba said chinas most famous tech billionaire will unveil a succession strategy on monday his 54th birthday but remain the companys executive chairman for the foreseeable future1 the new york times report surprised many in the global business community because of mas comparative youth especially in china where it is not unusual for tycoons to remain in place into their eighties1 alibaba did not return requests for comment on saturday after the story ran1 ma gave up the title of alibaba ceo in 2013 but remains a pivotal figure within the company as well as its most recognisable face1 in an interview with bloomberg tv released on friday ma hinted at his retirement plans saying he wanted to follow in the footsteps of microsoft founder bill gates one of the worlds most prolific philanthropists1 theres a lot of things i can learn from bill gates. i can never be as rich but one thing i can do better is to retire earlier he said1 the scmp report ran quotes from ma himself but they did not address when exactly he would retire. ma said he met with company executives 10 years ago to work out what alibaba would do without me1 anybody who knows me knows i embrace the future. this is not about retiring stepping away or backing off. this is a systematic plan the paper quoted ma as saying1 the scmp said ma would be in russia next week for alibaba business meetings as well as an upcoming trip to south africa and a planned speech at the companys investor day in mid-september1