Alibaba Group has announced a surprise management shakeup, with long-time veteran Daniel Zhang stepping down as chairman and CEO. Joseph Tsai, the executive vice chairman, will become the new chairman, while Eddie Wu, the chairman of Taobao and Tmall, will take over as CEO. The leadership shakeup aims to help revitalize the Chinese e-commerce giant amid tough competition and sluggish growth. - The appointment of Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets and a close ally of Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, brings rare U.S. ties to the Chinese industry.
- Tsai, who co-founded Alibaba with Ma and has a background in law and private equity, is also expected to support Alibaba's plans to reorganize into independent companies.
- Alibaba is dividing itself into six units that can pursue independent financing and IPOs.
- Its cloud intelligence group, to be led by Zhang, plans to spin off and list in the coming year
- Zhang succeeded Ma as Alibaba's CEO and chairman in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
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