On December 20th, Alibaba announced that Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group and Chairman of Taotian Group, will also serve as CEO of Taotian Group.
Alibaba Group Chairman Cai Chongxin announced the appointment through a full letter, stating that in order to promote efficient strategic coordination and high-intensity resource investment in the group's core e-commerce business sectors, Alibaba Group CEO and Taotian Group Chairman Wu Yongming will also serve as Taotian Group CEO. Dai Shan, former CEO of Taotian Group, will assist in the establishment of Alibaba Group Asset Management Company. The adjustment will take effect immediately.
With the effectiveness of this appointment, Wu Yongming will concurrently serve as CEO of Alibaba Group, Taotian Group, and Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Group. Among them, Taotian Group is Alibaba's largest source of revenue, while Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Group is regarded by the outside world as one of Alibaba's most imaginative businesses in the future. Wu Yongming, who holds multiple positions, is undoubtedly becoming a "key figure" of Alibaba.
The transformation concept of "the only constant is change" continues to be implemented on Alibaba. In March of this year, Alibaba launched a "1+6+N" organizational transformation, establishing six major business groups and multiple business companies under the Alibaba Group, including Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, Taobao Tmall Business, Local Life, Cainiao, International Digital Business, and Da Wen Yu. Each business has established a board of directors to independently face the market. After Zhang Yong stepped down in September this year, Cai Chongxin and Wu Yongming officially took over as the Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group.
This appointment of Wu Yongming as the CEO of Taotian Group signifies that Alibaba's exploration of future strategic and organizational system changes is still ongoing. Behind Wu Yongming's "great centralization", Alibaba's thinking on business collaboration seems to have changed compared to March this year. Previously, Alibaba hoped to enhance the independence of various businesses to enable them to face the market independently, stimulate business and organizational vitality. However, now it seems that Alibaba has returned to the track of hoping for unified command and resource integration of the group to bring assistance to various businesses.
It seems that leveraging Alibaba Cloud and leading the transformation of Taotian with technological innovation is one of the important reasons why Alibaba has made this personnel adjustment. Cai Chongxin stated in a letter from all staff that Wu Yongming, who also serves as the CEO of Taotian Group, will help to lead Taotian's transformation through technological innovation, ensure that the group focuses on core strategic e-commerce and cloud, and form a unified command and high-intensity continuous investment.
Previously, when the stock market value of Pinduoduo approached that of Alibaba, Jack Ma congratulated Pinduoduo on its decisions over the past few years in an internal network reply, "firmly believing that Alibaba will change, Alibaba will change", and stated that the era of AI e-commerce has just begun, which is both an opportunity and a challenge for everyone.
Behind Dai Shan's resignation and Wu Yongming's concurrent role as CEO, the rapid growth of e-commerce such as Pinduoduo and Tiktok in the past few years has had an impact on Taobao and Tmall. Faced with changes in the consumer environment and the rising trend of e-commerce constantly competing for shares on Taobao and Tmall, as well as a new situation where the growth rate of Taotian Group's business has slowed down, Alibaba seems to be seeing the "AI e-commerce era" as the biggest growth opportunity for Taotian Group in the future.
After taking over as CEO of the group in September, Wu Yongming announced the establishment of Alibaba Group's two strategic priorities of "user first and AI driven", and carried out business sorting around these two priorities to reshape business strategic priorities. At the end of last month, Wu Yongming made judgments and trade-offs on Alibaba Cloud's strategic direction, determined that Alibaba Cloud will implement an AI driven and public cloud priority strategy in the next five years, and made significant adjustments to its business management team. With Wu Yongming concurrently serving as the CEO of Taotian Group, the business focus and management team of Taotian Group may also be further adjusted, which is worth paying attention to in the future.
It is worth mentioning that Cai Chongxin also mentioned that since Wu Yongming took over as the CEO of Alibaba Group for three months, he has comprehensively promoted the reform of the management team's youthfulness. Next, Alibaba will fully utilize a young management team trained and emerging at the grassroots level to create an innovative environment for young people.
Attachment: Full text of Cai Chongxin's letter to all employees
"The only constant is change, let's ignite the spirit of starting a new business!"
Dear Ali people,
A new round of technological transformation is unfolding, which is both a challenge and an opportunity. A brand new era requires new strategic and organizational system changes. Facing the past, facing the future, and changing oneself, I believe that Alibaba, which has undergone this round of transformation, will complete its transformation just like any other time in the past.
I hereby announce that after discussion, the board of directors of Alibaba Group has decided:
In order to promote efficient strategic collaboration and high-intensity resource investment in the core e-commerce business sectors of the group, Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group and Chairman of Taotian Group, will also serve as CEO of Taotian Group.
In order to optimize the return on capital and enhance shareholder value, the Group's Capital Management Committee authorizes the establishment of an asset management company. Dai Shan will assist the group in establishing an Alibaba Group Asset Management Company and forming a professional management team.
Wu Yongming took over as the CEO of Alibaba Group for three months, clarifying the strategic focus and priority choices of the entire group, making resolute choices around the main business, and comprehensively promoting the reform of the management team's youthfulness. Having Wu Yongming concurrently serve as the number one position for Alibaba Cloud and Taotian will help to lead Taotian's transformation through technological innovation, and ensure the group's unified command and high-intensity continuous investment in the two strategic focuses of e-commerce and cloud. Next, we will fully utilize a young management team that has been trained and emerged at the grassroots level, creating an innovative environment for young people.
As a member of the 18 founding teams of Alibaba, Dai Shan has been working hard on the front line of the company for over 20 years, dedicating tremendous efforts to the establishment and growth of the company. In the process of Taotian Group's comprehensive return to users, return to the Internet, and return to Universal Taobao, Dai Shan has completed her mission. Preparing for the Group Asset Management Company is a new business function after Alibaba's transformation, which requires a pioneering spirit and strong organizational structure capabilities. Dai Shan will fully leverage her expertise to continue creating value for the company.
The above adjustments will take effect immediately.
Let's embark on the journey of starting a new business together. In the future, we will be proud of today's changes. Let's cheer for Alibaba people!
Cai Chongxin
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alibaba Group
December 20, 2023