Alibaba announces management reshuffle while Ant Financial names Simon Hu as new CEO
- Alibaba and its financial arm Ant Financial typically restructure on an annual basis as the companies adjust their strategies
- New Ant Financial CEO Simon Hu will continue to report to Eric Jing, who remains the executive chairman
Alibaba and its financial arm Ant Financial announced a number of leadership changes this week, including a new chief executive for Ant Financial, as both companies look to capitalise on global opportunities.
In an internal memo obtained by the Post on Thursday, Ant Financial executive chairman Eric Jing announced the appointment of Simon Hu as the company’s new chief executive, overseeing the company's digital finance and Alipay businesses amid growing domestic demand for these services in China.
Hu is taking over the chief executive duties from Jing, and will continue to report to the latter, who will remain in his role as executive chairman.
In the memo, Jing said he needed to dedicate more of his time and energy to “the future market potential of our globalisation strategy”.
Hu has served as president of Ant Financial since November 2018 and was previously president of Alibaba Cloud. He will focus on leading the business to meet the growing domestic demand in China as well as helping more service industries engage in digital transformation and development, Ant Financial said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Jing will focus on future strategic developments by overseeing businesses including Ant Financial's international business and smart technology business groups, the Hangzhou-based company added.
