Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba today announced new leadership for the group as of September, when the current chairman and CEO, Daniel Zhang, steps down.

In a statement sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, quoted by Notícias ao Minuto, the group said that Eddie Wu Yongming, until now president of Taobao, one of the conglomerate's main e-commerce platforms, will become executive director, while Joseph C. Tsai, currently executive vice president, will become president.

Alibaba's board of directors thanked Zhang in a statement for his "extraordinary contributions to the development" of the company and for his "outstanding leadership" in "managing uncertainties" in recent years.

Zhang had been CEO of the conglomerate since 2015 and chairman of the board since 2019, after replacing the charismatic co-founder Jack Ma.

According to the information provided by the group, Wu is one of the company's co-founders and has held various positions in the organization, including chief technology officer and chief financial officer of Taobao.

Tsai joined Alibaba in 1999 as part of the founding team and has been a member of the company's board of directors ever since.

Alibaba's shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell as much as 1.61% after the announcement.

Alibaba recorded a net profit of 72.5 billion yuan (9.5 billion euros) in the last fiscal year, which ended on March 31, an increase of 17% over the previous year. (NM)