Alibaba begins new era as founder departs
Jack Ma has officially retired from Alibaba on Tuesday. He celebrated his retirement with a big bash at an Olympic-sized stadium in the company’s hometown of Hangzhou.
Ma is stepping away from Alibaba at a relatively young age, writes CNN. He has said in the past that he wants to retire earlier than Bill Gates, who stepped down as chairman of Microsoft at the age of 58 in 2014.
Some people have linked the timing of Ma’s decision to the Chinese government’s increasing restrictions on internet companies. But Ma denied that Beijing was forcing him out when he spoke at the Alibaba event last September.
“I got rumors from outside China, saying: ‘It’s because the government wants to push you down.’ Nobody can [push you out], if you don’t want to leave, right? Because I know it’s nothing about the politics or government,” Ma said.
Still, some observers say that Ma had flown a bit too close to the sun, and leaving Alibaba is partly about self-preservation. The charitable projects Ma has signaled he is interested in pursuing in retirement have the added benefit of being unlikely to cause waves with China’s leadership.
Daniel Zhang, currently Alibaba’s chief executive, will replace him as executive chairman, reports BBC.
Inside Alibaba Mr Zhang is reportedly known as Xiaoyaozi, the name of a character in a Chinese martial arts novel. It means the “unfettered one”- someone who stays out of battles but is great at training others.
More Amazon news
Influencers are the key to Generation Z’s heart
Influencers are the way to reach and engage Gen-Z shoppers Generation Z accounts for more than 40 percent of consumers in the U.S. With a collective annual spending power estimated at $143 billion, this group is projected to be the largest consumer population in the...
Amazon has launched a Brand Referral Bonus program
Amazon entices brands to drive more traffic to their listings with Brand Referral Bonus program Amazon has launched a Brand Referral Bonus program to reward brands for driving sales on its marketplace. It gives participating brands an average 10% credit on sales...
Boost repeat purchase rate of your Private Label product with QR-codes
Qr-code as an instrument to promote Private Label product sales Repeat purchase rate is of utmost importance in e-commerce. Startup Batch comes with a simple yet effective solution: using QR-code on a product to promote sales. Batch has raised $5 million in seed...