Alibaba e-commerce unit's latest executive reshuffle sees veterans retire as younger leaders take over

A number of high-ranking executives at Taobao and Tmall Group have retired, paving the way for a younger generation of leaders to take the reins of Alibaba Group Holding's core e-commerce unit, as competition heats up with rivals such as PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and ByteDance-owned Douyin.

Senior executives that include Wang Hai, Liu Peng, Yu Feng and Wang Mingqiang retired from Taobao and Tmall Group on May 1, according to Chinese media reports on Wednesday.

Their exit comes several months after Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, promoted six young executives to lead key departments of Taobao and Tmall Group, part of a management reshuffle under Alibaba chief executive Eddie Wu Yongming - who took over last December as chief executive of the e-commerce unit, where he has served as chairman since May 2023.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Taobao and Tmall Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Alibaba Group Holding chief executive Eddie Wu Yongming last December took over as the chief executive of e-commerce unit Taobao and Tmall Group, where he has served as chairman since May 2023. Photo: Alibaba alt=Alibaba Group Holding chief executive Eddie Wu Yongming last December took over as the chief executive of e-commerce unit Taobao and Tmall Group, where he has served as chairman since May 2023. Photo: Alibaba>

The latest executive reshuffle at Taobao and Tmall Group shows how Alibaba is adhering to calls made by company co-founder Jack Ma to "believe in" and "give more power" to young people in an internal memo last month.

Wu, who became Alibaba's chief executive last September, said the Hangzhou-based company is committed to supporting the career advancement of younger employees to assume leadership roles.

"Within the next four years, we will promote those born after 1985 and [the] 1990s to form the core of our business management teams," he wrote in an internal letter at the time.

Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares closed 0.65 per cent lower at HK$76.30 on Thursday.

A large outdoor Taobao mascot is displayed at Alibaba Group Holding's headquarters. Photo: Shutterstock alt=A large outdoor Taobao mascot is displayed at Alibaba Group Holding's headquarters. Photo: Shutterstock>

According to Alibaba's latest annual report released last week, Wang Hai - who had served as a vice-president at Taobao and Tmall Group - was one of two names removed from the company's partner list. He joined Alibaba in 2003 and has led key e-commerce operations including 1688.com and Taobao Special Offer Edition.

Chinese retail industry veteran Liu Peng had served as head of Taobao and Tmall Group's brand business development centre and other business-to-consumer retail operations.

Yu Feng served as vice-president at Taobao's content unit after joining Alibaba in 2006 and also worked for 13 years at mobile payments platform Alipay. Wang Mingqiang, who joined Alibaba in 2005, served in leadership positions at Taobao's search unit and AliExpress, the e-commerce giant's international shopping platform.

Other Alibaba veterans who have stepped down since the tech conglomerate announced a sweeping restructuring in March include former chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong and Yu Yongfu, who previously led the company's Local Services Group.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.