Alibaba's Succession Saga Continues
Alibaba-style power struggles, punk rocker Jack Ma, and some existential questions asked.
Alibaba has been a company run on the cult of personality. Its founder, Jack Ma, lover of martial arts and performer of grand spectacles, is but one in a parade of top executives with larger-than-life personas. You’ve got the “Crazy one,” the "Princeling,” the “Poet” and many more. Conspicuously absent from this roster of flamboyant personalities is someone who left Alibaba last week.
News broke that Daniel Zhang is stepping down from his role overseeing the cloud business, a surprising development coming just two months after the announcement that he would leave his positions as Alibaba Group's CEO and Chairman to focus on taking Alicloud public. Daniel's departure highlights a pivotal choice facing Alibaba: deciding between a visionary spokesperson and professional management.
His “severance package” is generous: Daniel will get $1B to run a new tech fund and an honorary title. Chinese news sources an…
