Jack Ma's swan song: Alibaba outlines new values as founder leaves the stage

Alibaba Group celebrated its 20th anniversary Tuesday with a gala celebration in Hangzhou. It was Jack Ma’s final appearance as executive chairman, as CEO Daniel Zhang was set to take over. Ma will remain on the board of directors until next year, and he is a lifetime member of the Alibaba Partnership, the company’s governing body.

Alibaba marked the anniversary by updating its corporate values. The company said the following values will help in its vision of being a “good company that will last for 102 years”:

• Customers first, employees second, shareholders third
• Trust makes everything simple
• Change is the only constant
• Today’s best performance is tomorrow’s baseline
• If not now, when? If not me, who?
• Live seriously, work happily

The company produced a video about its 20-year history:

In his final speech, Ma said the ceremony was not for his retirement but for “the beginning of a legacy of succession.”

“It’s not about the choice of an individual, but the success of a system,” Ma said. An English teacher turned entrepreneur, Ma established ALibaba in his apartment in Hangzhou in 1999. He announced his resignation as CEO in 2013, and his resignation as chairman of the board in September 2018. 

With businesses covering ecommerce, fintech, logistics, cloud and entertainment sectors, Alibaba aims to serve 2 billion consumers, create 100 million jobs and bring profits to 10 million small and medium-sized enterprises by 2036.

A display at the company's HQ