Alibaba Group announces new chairman and CEO in surprise succession plan

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced a new chairman and chief executive, unveiling a surprise plan to replace Daniel Zhang at the helm of a company that’s been bleeding market share and struggling to revive growth in the post-Covid era.

Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai will rise to chairman while e-commerce executive Eddie Yong will replace Zhang as chief executive officer, the company said Tuesday.

Zhang’s shock departure comes after Alibaba announced a six-way restructuring to try and juice growth and create a family of standalone industry giants.

He unveiled that grand vision after China’s e-commerce leader posted its third consecutive quarter of single-digit revenue growth, reinforcing concerns that a Chinese consumer spending rebound may be farther out than anticipated.