Jack Ma of Alibaba departures - who will be his substitute?

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma is due to step down from the e-commerce giant on Tuesday, marking the end of an era for the firm.

With no background in computing, Mr Ma co-founded Alibaba in his apartment, having convinced a group of friends to invest in his online marketplace.

"Alibaba was his third attempt at a company, he had two trials before," said Duncan Clark who has written a book about Mr Ma and is also chairman of investment consultancy BDA China.

Lacking a background in technology and with no particular strength in finance, Mr Clark said charisma and strategic vision have been Mr Ma's biggest assets.

The author first met Mr Ma two decades ago and the entrepreneur spoke of making Alibaba one of the top 10 internet companies in the world within a decade.

Mr Clark said he has gradually brought technology and finance experts into Alibaba and more recently, Mr Ma has been "consciously edging himself out".

Inside Alibaba Mr Zhang is reportedly known as Xiaoyaozi, the name of a character in a Chinese martial arts novel.

Yet Mr Zhang's greatest challenge may be living up to the image of Mr Ma himself, a man who enjoyed the respect and affection of his staff as well as the international community.

 

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