China's e-commerce giant Alibaba names new chief executiveMarch 11, 2013 - 14:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, has named Jonathan Lu Zhaoxi as its new chief executive, BBC News reported. Lu will replace the group's founder Jack Ma, who announced in January that he was stepping down to make way for a younger crop of leaders at the firm. The 43-year-old Lu joined Alibaba in 2000 and has led the group's various key divisions, including the online payment service Alipay. Ma founded Alibaba in 1999 and will remain the group's executive chairman. "Jonathan and I have worked together for 13 years," Ma said. "Not only has he contributed to building our culture and organization and developed many talented people, he also possesses a unique leadership style and charisma." Alibaba Group is the parent company behind Alibaba.com, an online marketplace for small businesses, Taobao, a shopping site for consumers, as well as Alipay, an online payment service. It was one of the earliest entrants in the Chinese internet market and has enjoyed tremendous success as China has gone on to become the world's biggest internet market with more than 500 million users. The size of the market is expected to grow even further as more users in rural areas get access to the internet. But as the market has grown, so has the competition. As a result, Alibaba has been trying to restructure its operations to ensure that it continues to grow and dominate the market. Last year, it bought back its shares in Alibaba.com, the only listed division of the group, and took it private. Over the past few months it has announced a plan to break up its business into 25 different units that will be led by different executives. The newly appointed chief executive said the firm needed to ensure that it continued to satisfy its customers if it was to maintain its dominant position. "We live in an era of rapid change where pressures and challenges co-exist, but we must not forget our purpose and keep in mind the premise of 'Customer First'," Lu said in a statement. Lu will take charge of the group from May 10. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |