Dive Brief:
- Alibaba Group CFO Toby Xu will stay on as the group’s top financial officer as the Chinese e-commerce company moves to restructure, Alibaba Group confirmed to CFO Dive in an email.
- The Hangzhou, China-based company announced its planned restructuring Tuesday, noting its intent to split into six distinct entities each comprising a different segment of its various e-commerce, tech and other businesses.
- Alibaba Group itself will function as a holding company, the company said Tuesday, which will be headed by its current Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang.
Dive Insight:
Xu, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner and a member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, has served as the company’s finance chief since April 2022, when he replaced then CFO Maggie Wu.
Wu, who joined the company in 2007, led Alibaba through three initial public offerings during her time in the top financial seat, including listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, according to a December 2021 announcement of the CFO transition posted on Alibaba’s English corporate news website, Alizila.
Alibaba Group will function as a holding company with both Zhang and Xu continuing in their leadership roles for the entity, Zhang told investors during a conference call following the announcement of the restructuring.
“I as chairman and CEO and Toby as CFO will continue to play our...role at the level of the holding company to focus on the long-term development of Alibaba Group as a whole,” Zhang said during the conference call according to a translation.
The majority of the six distinct business groups — all but one — outlined by Alibaba for its split will each have the freedom to pursue individual fundraising and their own IPOs when they are ready, Xu told investors in response to questions during a conference call.
However, Alibaba could potentially cede control over some of these entities, Xu noted on the call.
“We will continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies to Alibaba and on that basis, we will decide whether or not to continue to retain control,” Xu said. “That will be an important strategic consideration.”
