Alibaba Announces New CEO And Sees Share Price Increase
The biggest online retailer in the world Alibaba created history in September 2014 when the company went public and raised a record $25 billion. The online retail giant had priced its shares at $68 and without a two month period saw its share value climb to as much as $119 per share.
Jonathan Lu, the CEO of the Alibaba Group Holding Limited played a vital role in helping the company go public and giving shareholders strong results. However, the company has had a rough time the past few months and share prices have fallen considerably as Alibaba has found it difficult to build on its success. Share prices fell to $80 and Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma decided to replace his CEO Jonathan Lu in an effort to provide to new leadership at the top and push back the share prices.
Ma decided to move Daniel Zhang who is the Chief Operating Officer At Alibaba and have him take on the responsibility of being the CEO. Zhang will take up the post of the CEO on the 10th of May, while Lu will continue to be on the board of directors in the capacity of a vice chairman. As soon as the announcement was made, share prices immediately went up and now stand at $86 per share.
Zhang has a great track record at Alibaba since joining the company eight years ago. He has held numerous positions during his tenure before taking on the responsibility of the COO in September 2013. Zhang was one of the key individuals responsible for creating and launching Alibaba’s mega shopping festival on the 11th of November each year. The event is promoted as the biggest online shopping festival in the world and is responsible for a significant revenue spike during this period.
Zhang will now be responsible for growing and expanding operations in Alibaba to ensure that profits continue to surge and share prices continue to climb. Apart from these functions, Zhang will focus on indentifying, developing and training some of the brightest talent in the company and turning them into tomorrow’s leaders.
Executive Chairman Jack Ma wished outgoing CEO Jonathan Lu the very best and said
