In a sudden decision, Chinese ecommerce major Alibaba announced its CEO and Chairman Daniel Zhang has stepped down. E-commerce Executive Eddie Yongming Wu has been promoted to CEO, while the current executive vice chairman Joseph Tsai will take over as chairman in September. 

However, Zhang will continue to work as the CEO and Chairman of the company’s Cloud Intelligence Group. 

"This is the right time for me to make a transition, given the importance of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as it progresses towards a full spin-off. I look forward to working closely with Joe and Eddie in the coming months to ensure a seamless transition," Zhang said in a statement.

Praising Wu, Joseph Tsai, said, “As chief technology officer of key businesses, including Taobao and Alipay, during Alibaba’s critical phases of development, Eddie was instrumental in architecting our technology platforms and guiding our strategic direction. He led the creation of our proprietary monetization platform on Taobao and Tmall and drove the launch of the Mobile Taobao App to propel our company to the mobile-first era. I look forward to working with Eddie to spark our next phase of growth through technology and innovation”. 

Alibaba is reportedly struggling to grow after the Covid-19 pandemic and has been performing poorly in the market. It has also endured multiple headwinds as China imposed strict regulations on the domestic tech sector.

In March, the company decided to restructure its operations by splitting the business into six different groups to attract growth and fuel expansion goals.