Alibaba appoints Daniel Zhang to succeed Jack Ma as chairman in 12-month succession plan

Jack Ma will hand over the keys of Asia’s most valuable company to Alibaba Group Holding’s chief executive officer, in an unprecedented succession plan that will slowly take the focus off one of China’s most recognisable corporate names over the next 12 months.

Under the plan, Daniel Zhang will be promoted to executive chairman on September 10, 2019, while Ma remains a director on Alibaba’s board and a permanent member of the Alibaba Partnership, according to a letter to all staff including the South China Morning Post, wholly owned by the Hangzhou-based company.

Ma said he would remain Alibaba’s executive chairman during the year-long period to ensure a “smooth and successful” transition, and stay on as an Alibaba director until a shareholders’ meeting in 2020.

“This is merely the beginning of a succession strategy of creating a step ladder to groom the next generation of managers,” said Joseph P.H. Fan, co-director of the Institute of Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Jack Ma’s halo is too bright, and outshines whoever’s under him, so he needs to fade out. But for a company of Alibaba’s size, it’s a process that will take 10 years to complete.”

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The succession plan, which took a decade to put together, was announced on Ma’s 54th birthday, coinciding with Teachers Day in Hong Kong and mainland China. The day holds special meaning for Ma, who taught English in Hangzhou before venturing into business in 1999.