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. Dai Shan, former CEO of Taotian Group, will assist in the establishment of Alibaba Group Asset Management Company.
A few months ago, there were rumors within Alibaba that Dai Shan would step down as CEO of Taotian Group. At that time, several Alibaba insiders told the New Beijing News and Shell Finance reporter that Alibaba's executive restructuring usually takes place in February, and many Alibaba insiders believed that the successor to Dai Shan would be Jiang Fan, CEO of Alibaba International Digital Business Group.
Dai Shan's last public appearance as the CEO of Taotian Group was at this year's Alibaba Media Communication Conference on Double 11. Every year on Double 11, multiple Alibaba executives and others meet with relevant national media on the same day. In the era when Double 11 is still announcing GMV (total transaction volume), this is also the day when relevant national media stay up late at Alibaba's Hangzhou headquarters waiting for market data.
On that day, Dai Shan appeared particularly relaxed and approachable wearing a custom-made T-shirt and jeans from Taotian Double 11. After a brief speech, she left.
Contrary to some speculations, Wu Yongming will serve as the CEO of Alibaba Group, Taotian Group, and Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group simultaneously. Alibaba claims that this will help lead Taotian's transformation with technological innovation, ensure that the group focuses on core strategic e-commerce and cloud, form a unified command and high-intensity continuous investment.
Alibaba Group Chairman Cai Chongxin announced the appointment through a letter from all members. He wrote in the letter, "A brand new era requires a new strategic and organizational system transformation. Facing the past, facing the future, and changing oneself, I believe that Alibaba, which has undergone this round of transformation, will complete its transformation."
Fully activating the young management team, Alibaba will restart its business
"The new era requires a new strategic and organizational system transformation," Cai Chongxin said in a letter to all employees.
After discussion, the board of directors of Alibaba Group has decided that in order to promote efficient strategic collaboration and high-intensity resource investment in the core e-commerce business sectors of the group, Alibaba Group CEO and Taotian Group Chairman Wu Yongming will also serve as Taotian Group CEO.
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.
Alibaba's organizational transformation was launched as early as March this year.
Cai Chongxin and Wu Yongming officially took over as the Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group in September. Subsequently, Wu Yongming announced the establishment of two strategic priorities, "user first and AI (artificial intelligence) driven", and conducted business analysis around these two priorities, reshaping business strategic priorities, and carrying out reforms to rejuvenate the management team.
In November, at Alibaba's quarterly performance conference call, Wu Yongming first disclosed a new strategic plan to the outside world, clarifying Alibaba's important priorities for the next decade in three directions: technology driven internet platform business, AI driven technology business, and globalized business network. He announced that for its core business, Alibaba Group will maintain long-term focus and high-intensity resources and R&D investment, while each business will be based on independent business units, facing the market independently.
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 (artificial intelligence) driven and public cloud priority strategy in the next five years, and made significant adjustments to the business management team. He believes that today's Alibaba is facing rapidly developing new technologies and new changes and expectations in the market. No matter how successful you have been in the past, you must turn the page to zero and awaken the mentality of starting a new business.
Cai Chongxin revealed in an employee letter, "Since Wu Yongming took over as 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 that has been trained and emerged at the grassroots level, creating an innovative environment for young people."
Leading Taotian in completing organizational design among the six major groups, asset management is a new business function after Alibaba's transformation
Alibaba announced that Dai Shan, former CEO of Taotian Group, will assist in the establishment of Alibaba Group Asset Management Company, which is a new business function after Alibaba's transformation.
Dai Shan is the 11th employee of Alibaba and one of the "Eighteen Arhat" of Alibaba. She once served as the president of Alibaba's B2B business group, which was once considered as part of the "cash cow" within Alibaba. Starting last year, Dai Shan officially took charge of Alibaba's "China Digital Business Division". After the "1+6+N" organizational change this year, Dai Shan officially became the CEO of Taobao and Tmall Commercial Group, and set three major strategies: "user first, ecological prosperity, and technology driven".
According to an internal source from Alibaba, Taotian Group has been officially operating under the new organizational structure since April this year, according to a reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance. With the overall or partial transfer of customer service, technology, human resources, finance and other resources from the original Alibaba Group's middle platform team, Taobao and Tmall Group has quickly established a complete and independent system for human and financial affairs, achieving comprehensive and independent operation and management of Taobao and Tmall Group.
After Alibaba's new top-level design, Dai Shan led Taotian Group to take the lead in completing its organizational design among the six major groups. Alibaba insiders told a reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance that Dai Shan repeatedly emphasized internally to get closer to users, market, and self transformation at a faster speed.
The architecture of Taobao and Tmall continues Dai Shan's business philosophy centered on consumer experience. On the user side, the three major user products of homepage, search, and live streaming remain unchanged; On the operational side of the industry, we will continue to classify management and operations based on industry consumption characteristics and user demand scenarios, and establish three major departments, each responsible for Qigong (Wang Hai), Aowen (Liu Peng), and Yiman (Liu Yiman), reporting to Dai Shan.
The leading philosophy proposed by Daishan for the adjustment of Taotian Group this time is "all architectures are designed around providing value to users", which has always been Daishan's business philosophy. At the beginning of 2022, Dai Shan took charge of Taobao and Tmall, clearly stating that "consumer experience is the core" and emphasizing rich content, strengthening the diversity brought by the ecosystem, achieving from transaction to consumption, and simplifying organizational structure based on this standard. Last year, Taobao established a User Development Center, and in the industry operation for merchants, it also requires classified management and operation based on user needs and scenarios.
Dai Shan's last public appearance as the CEO of Taotian Group was at the Alibaba Media Communication Conference on Double 11 this year. Every year on Double 11, multiple Alibaba executives and other executives meet with relevant national media at this conference. In the era when the GMV (total transaction volume) was still being announced on Double 11, it was also the day when relevant national media stayed up late at Alibaba's Hangzhou headquarters waiting for market data.
On that day, Dai Shan appeared particularly relaxed and approachable wearing a Taotian Double 11 T-shirt and jeans. After a brief speech, she left and talked about hoping that this would be a "return to the original intention" Double 11.
This year, consumers have paid much more attention to Double 11 than in the past few years. Faced with the low-priced war sweeping the industry, Taotian has also joined in, driving a comprehensive increase in order volume and total transaction volume. From the perspective of the entire industry, Big Promotion is returning to Big Promotion.
Cai Chongxin mentioned in his employee letter that Dai Shan, as a member of Alibaba's 18 founding teams, has been working hard on the front line of the company for over 20 years and has put in tremendous effort for 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.
In addition, Cai Chongxin also stated that 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 ability. Dai Shan will fully leverage her expertise to continue creating value for the company.
Taotian and Alibaba Cloud are working together, and Alibaba is restarting its business and promoting AI e-commerce
At this point, Alibaba's new strategic priorities and development path have been clearly presented. With Wu Yongming's dual focus on Taotian and Alibaba Cloud, the formation of Alibaba's focus on strategic core business development has been basically formed. Alibaba believes that this will help to lead Taotian's transformation with technological innovation, ensuring the group's unified command and high-intensity continuous investment in the two strategic focuses of e-commerce and cloud.
Wu Yongming has a profound technical background, and several Alibaba employees told reporters from New Beijing News and Shell Finance that he has a strong appeal within the company, and everyone calls him "Wu Mama".
He once served as the chief technology officer of B2B, Taobao, Alipay and other important businesses, leading the construction of the underlying technical architecture of related businesses; Led the creation of the group's core business, Alibaba Mama Platform, innovatively incubated mobile Taobao, and promoted the group's wireless transformation.
Wu Yongming once mentioned at the performance meeting that in the strategic cycle for the next three years, Taobao and Tmall will further clarify their business priorities - putting users first. Taotian Group should prioritize users, adhere to the "omnipotent Taobao" strategy, adhere to consumption classification and pricing power, and adhere to the selection of user value for products. Wu Yongming said, "We must firmly establish a comprehensive platform to meet the multi-level needs of the largest consumer group. This is the choice for Taobao and Tmall to maintain growth in today's competitive landscape."
The Cloud Intelligence Group will implement AI driven and public cloud priority strategies, and increase technological investment in AI related software and hardware fields. Through "cloud+AI", support the intelligent transformation of various industries and create greater opportunities for incremental growth in the era.
Due to various uncertainties, Alibaba Group recently announced that it will no longer push for a complete spin off of the Cloud Intelligence Group. In recent years, Alibaba Cloud has experienced several major accidents and adjustments, and is facing external factors such as international politics and adjustments from top external customers. In addition, the overseas cloud market competition is fierce, and the prospects are facing great uncertainty. A former employee of Alibaba Cloud told a reporter from New Beijing News and Shell Finance that "the Hong Kong data center was flooded and crashed after Double 11, and all major clients involved need to be apologized one by one. Zhang Yong (former CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Group) did indeed do so.".
In the future, under the management of Wu Yongming, he will make trade-offs between all Alibaba Cloud products and business models, reduce project-based sales orders, and increase investment in public cloud core products. At the same time, Alibaba Cloud will continue to do well in the business of Taotian Group. Wu Yongming stated that Alibaba Group will maintain long-term and resolute investment in Alibaba Cloud's strategic direction, while Cloud Intelligence Group will continue to operate independently and adopt a CEO responsibility system authorized by the board of directors.
For a large company like Alibaba, there are many factors to consider when choosing a chairman or CEO, but the most basic one is to serve the company's future development positioning. As Jack Ma said on the intranet, "The era of AI e-commerce has just begun, and it is an opportunity for everyone." In the context of artificial intelligence driven technological change, the left handed user and right handed AI are driving Taotian towards AI e-commerce, and Wu Yongming is at the helm.
The only constant is change. Alibaba will be led by a new leader with a new team and strategy, constantly starting a new business and waiting for a new outcome.