Alibaba Group overhauls e-commerce business amid onslaught of woes

It's creating two digital commerce teams, each for international and domestic markets

Alibaba Group Holding is replacing its long-standing chief financial officer and reshuffling the leaders of its commerce businesses, the most notable management changes since the Chinese firm survived a bruising antitrust investigation. 

Toby Xu will succeed Maggie Wu as CFO from April 1, the company said in a statement late Sunday. Wu will remain in the Alibaba Partnership and serve as executive director on the internet giant’s board, according to the statement. Separately, Alibaba is creating two Digital Commerce teams, one for international markets, led by Jiang Fan, and another for the domestic market, to be headed up by Trudy Dai, the company said in a blog post. 

Alibaba shares tumbled as much as 8.3 per cent in early Hong Kong trading, extending losses for the year to more than 50 per cent after Didi Global’s plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange sparked fresh concern about US-traded Chinese internet firms.

The Hangzhou-based firm is shaking up its management just as headwinds mount. After coughing up a record antitrust fine earlier this year, the online retailer has had to navigate closer regulatory scrutiny while fending off increased competition that forced it to cut its revenue outlook last month. In response to the rising challenges, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang is devolving some power to heads of the company’s business units in a bid to make the divisions more agile, Dow Jones reported last month.

“We are focused on the long-term, and succession within our management team on every occasion is always in the service of ensuring Alibaba will be stronger and better positioned for the future,” Zhang said. 

Wu has been with the Chinese online shopping firm for nearly 15 years and was instrumental in the company’s listings in New York and Hong Kong. Her retreat is especially notable, given Wu is one of the most prominent female executives in China’s internet sphere.

The International Digital Commerce unit will oversee the AliExpress logistics service, Alibaba.com as well as Southeast Asian platform Lazada, Alibaba said on its website.