Dear Alibaba customers, employees, and
shareholders,
Today, as we mark the 19th
anniversary of Alibaba, I am excited to share some news with you: with the
approval of our board of directors, one year from today on September 10, 2019
which also falls on Alibaba’s 20th anniversary, Group CEO Daniel Zhang will
succeed me as chairman of the board of Alibaba Group. While remaining as
executive chairman in the next 12 months, I will work closely with Daniel to
ensure a smooth and successful transition. Thereafter, I will stay on the
Alibaba board of directors until our annual shareholders meeting in 2020.
I have put a lot of thought
and preparation into this succession plan for ten years. I am delighted to
announce the plan today thanks to the support of the Alibaba Partnership and
our board of directors. I also want to offer special thanks to all Alibaba
colleagues and your families, because your trust, support and our joint
enterprise over the past 19 years have prepared us for this day with confidence
and strength.
When Alibaba was founded in
1999, our goal was to build a company that could make China and the world proud
and one that could cross three centuries to last 102 years. However, we all
knew that no one could stay with the company for 102 years. A sustainable
Alibaba must be built on sound governance, culture-centric philosophy,
and consistency in developing talent. No company can rely solely on its
founders. Because of physical limits on
one’s ability and energy, no one can shoulder the responsibilities of chairman
and CEO forever.
The responsible thing to do is to let younger, more talented people take over in leadership
roles so that they inherit our mission “to make it easy to do business
anywhere.” Carrying out this mission in order to help small businesses, young
people and women around the world is my passion. I feel blessed to have this opportunity.
Alibaba is amazing not because
of our business or scale or accomplishments. The best thing about Alibaba is
that we come together under a common mission and vision. Our partnership
system, unique culture and talented team have laid a strong foundation for the
legacy of our company. In fact, since I handed over the CEO’s responsibilities
in 2013, the company has run smoothly for five years on the back of these
institutional ingredients.
The partnership system we
developed is a creative solution to good governance and sustainability, as it
overcomes several challenges faced by companies of scale: continuous
innovation, leadership succession, accountability and cultural continuity. Over
the years, we have experimented with and
improved on the right balance between systems and individuals. Simply relying
on individuals or blindly following a system will not solve our problems. To
achieve long-term sustainable growth, you need the right balance among system,
people and culture. I have full confidence that our partnership system and
efforts to safeguard our culture will in time win over the love and support
from customers, employees and shareholders.
After years of hard work,
today’s Alibaba has a world-class talent pool in quality and quantity. I feel extremely proud of our team, our leadership and our unique
mission-driven culture, as well as the fact that we continue to develop
exceptional business leaders and professional talent like Daniel Zhang.
Daniel has been with Alibaba
Group for 11 years. Since he took over as CEO, he has demonstrated his superb
talent, business acumen and determined leadership. Under his stewardship,
Alibaba has seen consistent and sustainable growth for 13 consecutive quarters.
His analytical mind is unparalleled, he holds dear our mission and vision, he
embraces responsibility with passion, and he has the guts to innovate and test
creative business models. Deservedly, China’s business news media has named him
the No.1 CEO in 2018. Starting the process of passing the Alibaba torch to
Daniel and his team is the right decision at the right time, because I know
from working with them that they are ready, and I have complete confidence in
our next generation of leaders.
As for myself, I still have
lots of dreams to pursue. Those who know me know that I do not like to sit
idle. I plan on continuing my role as the founding partner in the Alibaba
Partnership and contribute to the work of the partnership. I also want to
return to education, which excites me with so much blessing because this is
what I love to do. The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new
things – because what if new dreams can be realized?!
The one thing I can promise
everyone is this: Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever
belong to Alibaba.
Jack Ma
You can also watch the video by clicking on the Play Button
Photo credit REUTERS STRINGER HANDOUT
