Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced Monday that chief executive Daniel Zhang will replace Jack Ma as chairman of the board next September, outlining the celebrity billionaire’s plans to fade from the business empire he co-founded in 1999. The businessman will continue to work for Alibaba as a “lifetime” adviser, the company said. But Lei Jianping, a Beijing technology blogger who follows Alibaba, said the succession blueprint won’t change much. “What happens now won’t change the fact that Alibaba is led by Jack Ma,” Lei said. He met with President Trump in July 2017 as Alibaba sought to acquire the Dallas-based money transfer group MoneyGram.

Source: Washington Post September 10, 2018 02:25 UTC