The mysterious programmer became Alibaba CEO: Veteran employees also do not know anything about the new boss, the vital future of the $220 billion empire is in the hands of the person who used to follow Jack Ma to meetings

Alibaba just carried out the biggest leadership reshuffle in its 24-year history. Many senior leaders of the company from the top investment names Jack Ma to the next generation regularly appear in meetings and diplomatic meetings. But the man who was appointed CEO last week is a mystery even to longtime employees at Alibaba.

The appointment of Eddie Wu Yongming to the position of CEO to replace Mr. Daniel Zhang surprised observers, even though the 48-year-old computer expert has stood alongside Jack Ma in the early days of Alibaba’s founding. Employees say they had to scour the intranet plus read public records to learn about this leader, their new boss.

Now, the promotion of someone who was once a technology expert, then turned into a venture capitalist raises questions about the future direction of China’s largest e-commerce company.

Wu seems to be straddling two different worlds, a veteran programmer, a venture capitalist who now leads a 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) VC firm with a portfolio full of startups. advanced areas such as self-driving cars and IoT. This characteristic of Wu is important because Alibaba’s dominant internet dominance in recent years is under threat, covering areas ranging from AI, cloud computing services and video entertainment. And their 6 branches are currently in the process of raising capital and splitting.

Last week, investors struggled to analyze the impact Wu could have on the $220 billion company and its split into six companies. Many experts pay attention to his scientific background, while others focus on Wu’s ability to attract the most capital. All of which could be the key to energizing a company that hasn’t posted double-digit growth since late 2021.

Few clues exist on the internet that reveal Wu’s way of thinking. The scattered interviews he has conducted over the decades usually contain mostly commentary on technological advancements. But his personality sometimes shines. Among the few photos online of Wu is one of him wearing an FC Barcelona jersey, giving two thumbs up in the middle of the packed Camp Nou stadium. In a 2016 interview with Tsinghua University, he said he took his daughter to a match at Lionel Messi’s home ground to instill in her the value of perseverance and focus. “If you start a business just to make money, once you’ve made some, you’ll get lost pretty quickly,” he said.

His affectionate name “Wu Ma” or “Mother Wu” refers to his ability to advise and rally people, Wu impresses with his image as a “young and idealistic Jack Ma”, he has created envision digitizing China’s rapidly growing private sector by building websites for small business owners. In 1996, Wu joined Jack Ma’s first venture, China Yellow Pages, after stumbling across a job listing in a local newspaper.

“This man is funny, very charismatic to talk to,” Wu said of his first impressions of Jack Ma.

Wu remained attached to his mentor, Jack Ma, despite receiving much better offers. And that loyalty may now seem to be coming to an end. He followed Jack Ma to Beijing when the billionaire worked at the Ministry of Commerce, and then with Jack Ma when he created Alibaba at his lakeside apartment in Hangzhou.

“Eddie Wu is a highly regarded insider with proven trading skills, which is probably what Alibaba needs at this point,” said Brock Silvers, chief investment officer at the private equity firm. Kaiyuan Capital said. “Wu can step into his new role without any disturbance, but he’s also a more reserved executive than the legendary Jack Ma.”

As Alibaba grew, Wu’s position in the giant trading empire also increased. He is the chief architect of Alibaba’s leading products from the Taobao platform “akin to” Ebay to a wholesale website. In 2004, he designed Alipay – an online payment service similar to Paypal to help Chinese people move away from cash. The technology has grown to be so valuable that in 2011, Jack Ma split the business into Ant Group – a move that shareholders including Yahoo and Softbank vehemently opposed at the time because of the loss of financial resources. key product.

Later, Wu also led the team that created Taobao’s advertising platform, Alimama – for merchants to buy prime locations and quickly became a money printer for Alibaba in its early years. After Alibaba’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, he became a special assistant to Jack Ma for four years until the empire was handed over to Zhang.

At Alibaba, many employees use internal aliases inspired by characters from the kung-fu classic, an obsession of Jack Ma. Wu happens to be “Dongxie” – the character, which translates as “Eastern heresy”, is one of the five greatest martial artists in the world, known for his love of music. In addition to his tech expertise, “he also has a strong business acumen,” Brian Wong, a former Alibaba executive who worked with Wu, told Bloomberg Television. ” He’s seen almost every angle of the business .”

Others have mixed opinions. “We are surprised that Wu’s appointment as the group’s new CEO is based on technology rather than his background, ” wrote Citigroup analysts including Alicia Yap.

In 2015, Wu founded his own venture capital firm, Vision Plus – after relinquishing management of Alibaba’s day-to-day operations. Wu’s investment firm has penetrated the so-called “unicorn forest” of Hangzhou – home to a series of startups founded by former Alibaba employees. These include Xiaodian – a company founded by the former chairman of Taobao’s life services and virtual reality glasses maker Rokid – created by an Alibaba engineer.

In 2020, before China activates increased scrutiny of the country’s technology sector, Wu is on the cusp of picking the sweet fruit. He was one of the first more than a dozen employees to hold enough stock to become a billionaire when Ant IPO was successful. Wu may have $1.8 billion. Then disaster struck – his boss Jack Ma in October lashed out in a forum, criticizing state-owned banks for operating as pawn shops and regulators for behaving like old men. A month later, Ant’s IPO was called off.

Like many Ant leaders, Wu then largely avoided the media. In March 2021, he appeared in the listing ceremony of Tuya company that Vision Plus invested in.

In retrospect, Wu’s appointment as CEO of Alibaba was not without clues. In March, when Zhang initiated the restructuring and split of Alibaba, Wu was appointed president of Core Taobao-Tmall Marketplaces; Director of international trade and local services of Alibaba.

Along with Tsai, who is now Alibaba’s new chairman, Wu will continue an overhaul that could prove crucial to Alibaba’s long-term growth. “If they don’t catch a new trend that can bring in user views, the company will go downhill,” warns Roger Huang, a former Alibaba executive who helped launch the Tmall platform in 2008. .

Source: Bloomberg