Alibaba Group, operator of global marketplace platform Alibaba.com, is shaking up the ranks of its senior executives.
And the shuffling does include the realignment of B2B marketplace operations.
In a letter to employees today, Alibaba Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang announced that all its global business-to-consumer and B2B marketplace operations will be folded into a new business unit: International Digital Commerce.
“As we continue to build a multi-engine approach to drive future growth, a ‘diversified business governance’ will become Alibaba’s new organizational strategy as we look towards the future,” wrote Zhang in his letter. “We want to explore new business governance approaches to drive more innovation and creativity across our teams and businesses.”
To head up its new International Digital Commerce unit, Alibaba has named Jiang Fan as the group’s new top executive. He joined Alibaba in 2013 and most recently served as president of Taobao and Tmall, two of Alibaba’s consumer marketplaces in China.
Alibaba also announced it is combining its ecommerce businesses in China and appointed Trudy Dai to lead the new China Digital Commerce operation.
Between 2014 and 2017, Dai was Alibaba’s chief customer officer. Since January 2017, she has served as president of Alibaba’s industrial ecommerce unit, which is comprised of Alibaba.com, 1688.com, AliExpress and Taobao Deals. In March 2021, Dai also became president of Taocaicai, a community marketplace.
“We will continue to focus on becoming a truly globalized company, and we believe that overseas markets present many exciting potential and opportunities for us to capture,” wrote Zhang in his letter. “We have confidence in our local teams, and we are charting a path forward with a holistic strategic blueprint and organizational stability for winning our overseas markets.”
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