Tech giant bows out
Publish date: 11 September 2019
Issue Number: 1798
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
Category: General
Tech giant bows out
Jack Ma, the billionaire who ushered e-commerce into China, yesterday stepped down as Alibaba's executive chairman. After two decades building the company into a $460bn business, Ma is now pivoting full time to philanthropy. He started the Jack Ma Foundation in 2014, and has cited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as an inspiration for his charitable endeavours. The 55-year-old announced his intention to resign a year ago. Even after stepping away from Alibaba's senior management and board, he is expected to continue to shape the company's future through his lifetime membership with the Alibaba Partnership, a group of 36 people that can nominate a majority of the directors to the board. He also retains a 6.22% share of the company.
