Todd Bishop
Ma Yun, the founder of Alibaba Group, entered the age of 55 on September 10. He officially retired as chairman on the same day and was replaced by CEO Zhang Yong. Ma Yun founded Alibaba in 1999 to build an electronic business empire. In the past 20 years, Ma Yun has become China’s richest man. Even foreign media described him as China’s Steve Jobs and became a well-known entrepreneur in the West. Now that he has retired behind the scenes, the BBC described it as the beginning of a new era in Alibaba.
The Wall Street Journal: It’s hard to have another Ma Yun in the short term.
According to the report, Ma Yun is a charming leader. Ma Yun’s arrogant remarks have gained popularity both at home and abroad. For example, he has publicly encouraged employees to work not only to work 72 hours a week, but also to work hard to “create people”. The report believes that the government under the rule of Chinese President Xi Jinping tends to promote state-owned enterprises, while tightening supervision over private companies, causing business leaders to worry that they are too eye-catching. Therefore, I am afraid that China will not appear as prominent as Ma Yun in the short term.
Bloomberg: Ma Yun is still very important
Bloomberg said that Ma Yun has rapidly emerged as an e-commerce giant, which is the epitome of China’s leap forward becoming the world’s second largest economy. Since Ma Yun became chairman of the board in 2013, as of the end of March 2019, Alibaba’s revenue increased by 1,100% to RMB 378.8 billion. Ma Yun was also the richest man in Asia in 2016.
Although Ma Yun officially retired behind the scenes, his role is expected to remain important to Alibaba. Brock Silvers, managing director of Kaiyuan Capital, believes that Zhang Yong may not make a major decision without the support of Ma Yun.
BBC: Charm Cheng Mayun Maximum property
Alibaba has grown from an online shopping platform to an e-commerce giant and has invested in financial services and artificial intelligence technologies, including the launch of Alipay, an electronic payment platform. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted Duncan Clark as “Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built”, saying that although there is no technology-related background, there is no specific advantage in finance. However, Ma Yun’s charm and strategic vision are his greatest asset, able to convince customers, employees and important shareholders.
Clark and Ma Yun met for the first time in the year before, and the latter threatened to lead Alibaba into the world’s top ten Internet companies within ten years. Clarke described it as an unwilling ambition, but Ma Yun can make people believe.
“The Figaro”: “Retirement” is an exaggeration
France’s “Le Figaro” also quoted Clark as saying that Ma Yun “retired” is an exaggeration. He is a permanent partner of Alibaba. He has no retirement system and still has the right to choose leaders. As a member of the Communist Party, Ma Yun’s retreat behind the scenes will reduce the risk of forming a tense relationship with the government and give him more freedom. The report also quoted the evaluation of Weibo users, describing Ma Yun as the most intelligent and wealthy in China, and knowing the truth of “shooting the birds”.
