The business and management reshuffle is the first significant move since chairman Jack Ma announced his intention to retire.
Alibaba chief financial officer Maggie Wu will take charge of the firm's strategic investment unit from executive vice-chairman Joe Tsai, the Chinese e-commerce and technology giant announced on Tuesday on its WeChat account, «Reuters» reported.
This move would allow the firm to more tightly integrate its investments into its overall ecosystem and bolster its investment focus in the face of slowing revenue growth, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Wu has been CFO since 2013 and sits on the firm's board and has served on investment committees of Alibaba Group and affiliate Ant Financial. Tsai will remain as vice-chairman and will support Wu in her expanded role, which is effective immediately.
New Focus Areas
Additionally, Alibaba announced that its supermarket division, Freshippo, will become a standalone business, and enterprise software unit DingTalk will be merged into the firm's cloud unit.
«To guarantee innovation, invest in our future, Alibaba is undertaking an organisational upgrade,» the company said in a statement signed by chief executive officer Daniel Zhang.
Last week, Alibaba filed confidentially for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, looking to raise some $20 billion in a secondary listing.
Chairman's Retirement
In September 2018, Alibaba chairman and founder Jack Ma, a former English teacher, announced his intention to retire in September 2019 – the company's 20th anniversary. The 54-year-old has said he would like to return to education. He will be replaced by Zhang.
