Ma Yun Not Retiring, Will Oversee Transition Period

Ma Yun will resign his CEO duties, but remain on Alibaba's board.

iFeng: 阿里巴巴最新回应确认：马云不会“退任”或是“退休”！

The South China Morning Post quoted a spokesman for Alibaba as saying that Ma Yun is still the chairman of the board of directors of the company and will provide a transition plan for a long period of time. The spokesperson said that the New York Times reported that Ma Yun’s statement of “retirement” was actually wrong.

Alibaba told reporters that "the content of the South China Morning Post is no problem," but it is unable to provide more information.

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An Alibaba spokesman said Ma remains the company’s executive chairman and will provide transition plans over a significant period of time, contrary to a New York Times article that said he was “stepping down” to “retire.” The Times story was taken out of context, and factually wrong, the spokesman said.

According to Alibaba’s annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Ma is a lifetime member of the Alibaba Partnership, a group of 36 senior managers who are responsible for maintaining the mission and culture of Alibaba.

“I sat down with our senior executives 10 years ago, and asked what Alibaba would do without me,” Ma said in an interview with the South China Morning Post, which Alibaba owns. “I’m very proud that Alibaba now has the structure, corporate culture, governance and system for grooming talent that allows me to step away without causing disruption.”