Alibaba stated on Tuesday that it will replace chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang in September with existing executive vice chairman Joseph Tsai as chairman and Eddie Wu as CEO.
In a statement, Zhang said it was “the right time” for him to stand aside as the company prepares to undertake a full spin-off of its advanced cloud computing subsidiary.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba is a leading Chinese technology company, with operations in cloud computing, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment, and artificial intelligence.
Following the executive transition, Zhang will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, the company said.
The firm has faced several unprecedented headwinds in recent years as Beijing imposed tighter restrictions on the domestic tech sector.
Alibaba said in late March that it would split into six business groups in one of the most significant overhauls of a leading Chinese tech firm to date.
