In "shake-up," Brooklyn Nets (and arena company) owner Tsai to ascend to Chairman of Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group
In what was variously called a "shake-up" or "overhaul," Joe Tsai, Executive Chairman of the Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group, will become the company's Chairman in September, an increase in responsibility aimed to improve the company's growth prospects as it splits into six separate entities.
That presumably will leave Tsai with somewhat less time to devote to his ownership of the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty, and the Barclays Center operating company.
He has (or had) homes in Hong Kong, La Jolla, and New York, and presumably will spend more time in China, including Alibaba's headquarters city of Hangzhou. Tsai was in Hangzhou yesterday, according to the South China Morning Post. Several news articles also prominently identified Tsai as the Nets' owner.
Various press outlets noted Tsai's ties to founding Chairman Jack Ma, who departed in 2019 and left the public eye after criticizing Chinese regulators, but remains the company's largest shareholder.
The Wall Street Journal noted that the "relationship could give Tsai more heft than the departing chairman Daniel Zhang to push along the company's plans to reorganize itself into multiple independent companies and get its e-commerce business back on a growth track."
The WSJ also noted the "strong U.S. ties" of Tsai, educated at Yale and Yale Law School, as well as his reputation among investors. But Alibaba, the stock of which closed below $87 yesterday and peaked around $317 in 2020, is buffeted more by "geopolitical issues and concerns over China's economy," the newspaper reported.
Other coverage
The New York Times reported it as In Overhaul, Alibaba’s Boss Moves Aside and Two Co-Founders Step Up, noting:
CNN reported it as Alibaba names new chairman and CEO in major shakeup.
Bloomberg framed it as Jack Ma’s Lieutenants Return to Oversee Tough Alibaba Reboot.
The press release
The 6/20/23 press release (also at bottom) was headlined Alibaba Group Announces Chairman and CEO Succession Plan. Notably, the press release quoted Tsai the most, regarding the essential demotion of Zhang and the ascension of Eddie Yongming Wu as CEO:
That presumably will leave Tsai with somewhat less time to devote to his ownership of the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Liberty, and the Barclays Center operating company.
He has (or had) homes in Hong Kong, La Jolla, and New York, and presumably will spend more time in China, including Alibaba's headquarters city of Hangzhou. Tsai was in Hangzhou yesterday, according to the South China Morning Post. Several news articles also prominently identified Tsai as the Nets' owner.
Various press outlets noted Tsai's ties to founding Chairman Jack Ma, who departed in 2019 and left the public eye after criticizing Chinese regulators, but remains the company's largest shareholder.
The Wall Street Journal noted that the "relationship could give Tsai more heft than the departing chairman Daniel Zhang to push along the company's plans to reorganize itself into multiple independent companies and get its e-commerce business back on a growth track."
The WSJ also noted the "strong U.S. ties" of Tsai, educated at Yale and Yale Law School, as well as his reputation among investors. But Alibaba, the stock of which closed below $87 yesterday and peaked around $317 in 2020, is buffeted more by "geopolitical issues and concerns over China's economy," the newspaper reported.
Other coverage
The New York Times reported it as In Overhaul, Alibaba’s Boss Moves Aside and Two Co-Founders Step Up, noting:
Alibaba’s founder, the billionaire Jack Ma, was driven out of the public eye in 2020 after criticizing Chinese regulators for stifling innovation at Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial technology sister company. After his remarks, Chinese officials suspended plans for Ant Group to sell stock in an initial public offering. In 2021 Chinese antitrust regulators fined Alibaba $2.8 billion for preventing merchants from selling their goods on other shopping platforms.
CNN reported it as Alibaba names new chairman and CEO in major shakeup.
Bloomberg framed it as Jack Ma’s Lieutenants Return to Oversee Tough Alibaba Reboot.
The press release
The 6/20/23 press release (also at bottom) was headlined Alibaba Group Announces Chairman and CEO Succession Plan. Notably, the press release quoted Tsai the most, regarding the essential demotion of Zhang and the ascension of Eddie Yongming Wu as CEO:
"Daniel has made exceptional contributions to the development of Alibaba Group since joining the company in 2007, and he demonstrated extraordinary leadership in navigating unprecedented uncertainties affecting our business over the past few years. We believe there is no better leader than Daniel to steer Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group into the next chapter of its journey and future growth," said Joseph Tsai.
"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," said Tsai.
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