Alibaba turns to little-known coder to continue Jack Ma’s legacy

Chinese tech giant Alibaba announced on June 20, 2023 that it will replace chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang with current executive vice chairman Joseph Tsai as chairman and Eddie Wu as CEO in September. — AFP

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ushered through a parade of high-profile stewards over its 24-year history, from the larger-than-life Jack Ma himself to a succession of C-suite executives who frequent conference and diplomatic circles.

But the man who rose to the top in last week’s abrupt management reshuffle is an enigma even to some of the Chinese ecommerce juggernaut’s longer-serving employees.