INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Jack Ma Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999.Jack Ma, the charismatic co-founder of China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd,
will step down as chairman in exactly one year on Sept
10, 2019, the company said.Current Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang will replace him as chairman, while Ma will complete his current
term on Alibaba's board of directors following the company's annual general meeting in 2020.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 Alibaba's "Singles
11 event that has become the world's largest online shopping event."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 company.Zhang will also retain the CEO title, the company said.Ma, who co-founded Alibaba
in 1999, is one of China's richest people with a net worth of $36.6 billion, according to Forbes
The company has grown to have more than 66,000 full-time employees and a market value of some $420 billion.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
managers.The group has the ability to nominate the majority of directors on the company's board.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 wealth.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 film.Since handing over the CEO role, Ma has concentrated on
philanthropy and promoting Alibaba internationally at business and political events.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, Australia.Ma, who also controls Alibaba payment affiliate Ant Financial, is
stepping back amid more challenging times for Chinese tech companies as sales growth in China's eastern mega-cities shows signs of
slowing.Alibaba maintained robust revenue growth in the first half of 2018, but its profit margins have been squeezed by big-ticket
has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
