Daniel Zhang, currently Chief Operating Officer of Alibaba Group, will become CEO of Alibaba Group, effective May 10. Zhang will replace Jonathan Lu, who will remain on Alibaba Group’s board of directors as Vice Chairman.
Zhang has been with Alibaba Group for eight years and has held top management positions across the
organization. He is also one of the founding members of the Alibaba Partnership. Zhang has been Alibaba’s
chief operating officer since September 2013. In his role as COO, Zhang oversaw the operations of all
Alibaba Group businesses in China and internationally.
“Daniel is a proven international business leader and innovator with a strong track record of delivering results,” said Jack Ma, Alibaba Group’s Executive Chairman. “He has the confidence of our entire management team, and there is no better person to lead Alibaba Group as we embark on the next stage of our growth on top of the strong foundation that Jonathan helped build.”
In his new capacity, Alibaba Group said Lu will play an important role in developing future leaders of the company. This role is especially important as Alibaba Group continues to build the necessary talent to enable the company to grow and thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
“I’m proud of the Alibaba team and all that we have accomplished together,” Lu said. “Over many
years, I have seen just how critical Alibaba’s culture and talent are to our success, and I’m excited to take on this new role helping to develop the next generation of leaders at our company.”
Alibaba Group’s China retail marketplaces had 350 million annual active buyers in the twelve
months ended March 31, compared to 334 million in the twelve months ended December 31, representing a net addition of 16 million in annual active buyers, and compared to 255 million in the 12 months ended March 31, representing an increase of 37% compared to the same period in 2014.
The company said its growth in annual active buyers was driven by an increase in users accessing our platforms through mobile devices, which in turn was a result of our continuing efforts to attract users with strong commercial intent to its mobile ecommerce apps, especially its Mobile Taobao App, and convert them into active buyers with its effective mobile interface. Active buyers increased throughout China, with continued faster growth from lower tier cities.
Alibaba Group’s revenue increased by 45% to RMB 17,425 million (US$2,811 million) in the quarter ended March 31, 2015, compared to RMB 12,031 million in the same quarter of 2014. Revenue from the China commerce retail business increased by 39% to RMB 13,049 million (US$2,105 million), compared to RMB 9,371 million in the same quarter of 2014, driven primarily by the growth in commission revenue and also by online marketing services revenue.
However, income from operations in the quarter ended March 31 was RMB 2,599 million (US$419 million), a decrease of 52% compared to RMB 5,451 million in the same quarter of 2014. Net income in the quarter ended March 31 was RMB 2,869 million (US$463 million), a decrease of 49% compared to RMB 5,661 million in the same quarter of 2014.