The founders of the three major e-commerce platforms all retired from the front line

The founders of the three major e-commerce platforms have all retired from the front line. According to the announcement issued by JD Group on April 7, JD Group President Xu Lei will serve as CEO of JD.com, responsible for daily operations and management. The founders of the three major e-commerce platforms have all retired from the front line. The founders of the three major e-commerce platforms have all retired from the front line 1

According to the WeChat public account of JD Blackboard, JD Group announced that Xu Lei, President of JD Group, will serve as CEO of JD Group and will be responsible for daily operations and management. Chairman of the Board of Directors Liu Qiangdong reported that Liu Qiangdong will devote more energy to long-term strategic design, major strategic decision-making and deployment, training of young leading talents and rural revitalization.

Xu Lei takes over, while Liu Qiangdong still holds strategic decision-making power

Public information shows that Xu Lei served as a marketing consultant for JD.com in May 2007 and officially joined JD.com in January 2009. , has served as the head of the marketing department of JD.com, the head of the wireless business department, and the CMO of JD.com Group. In July 2018, Xu Lei served as CEO of JD Retail Group, leading the retail business to achieve high-quality growth for three consecutive years. On September 6 last year, JD.com announced that Xu Lei was promoted to president of JD.com Group, responsible for the daily operations and coordinated development of each business segment.

In the announcement of Xu Lei’s two appointments, Liu Qiangdong’s control over JD.com has not decreased but increased, and in the latest announcement, an additional item has been added: major strategy Decision-making and deployment, which means Liu Qiangdong still has decision-making power on JD.com’s important strategies.

Huang Zheng resigned as chairman and will devote himself to scientific research in the future.

Unlike Liu Qiangdong’s control over JD.com, which has not diminished but increased, Huang Zheng, the founder of Pinduoduo, has truly retreated behind the scenes.

On March 17 last year, when Pinduoduo released its fourth quarter and full-year financial reports for 2020, founder Huang Zheng announced that the board of directors had approved his resignation as chairman, and that he would be succeeded by co-founder and current CEO Chen Lei. Great.

Huang Zheng stated in his 2021 letter to shareholders that after no longer serving as chairman and Pinduoduo’s management position, the increasingly fierce competition and even alienation in the industry made him realize that the traditional focus on scale and efficiency Oriented competition has its inevitable problems. To change, we must find answers in core technology and its basic theories.

Huang Zheng said that after resigning as chairman, he will combine more with his personal lifelong interests and devote himself to research in the fields of food science and life sciences, so as to explore the path of high-speed, high-quality and in-depth development for Pinduoduo ten years later. New space.

As early as 2018, in an interview with the media, Huang Zheng said: "I hope to transform into a true scientific researcher in the future." He once took Benjamin Franklin, who stopped participating in business after the age of 40 but participated in scientific research to invent the lightning rod, as an example to explain why non-profit, whole-hearted scientific research will make greater contributions to mankind.

Huang Zheng almost completely withdrew from Pinduoduo after resigning as CEO and chairman of the board and giving up his super voting rights. However, Huang Zheng still controls 29.4% of Pinduoduo’s shares. As the company’s founder and major shareholder, Huang Zheng still has implicit influence and decision-making power over Pinduoduo.

Jack Ma made a smooth transition and handed over full power to Zhang Yong for management

As early as 2013, Jack Ma resigned as CEO of Alibaba Group. Six years later, he further stepped down as chairman of the group’s board of directors and turned the company over. Full power is handed over to Zhang Yong for management.

On the evening of September 10, 2019, at Alibaba’s 20th anniversary annual meeting held in Hangzhou, Jack Ma resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Group, and current Alibaba Group CEO Zhang Yong took over.

That day was Teachers’ Day, which also coincided with Jack Ma’s 55th birthday. He announced his resignation as chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Group. In his open letter of resignation, he wrote: “Everyone knows that I can’t be idle. In addition to continuing to work as a partner of Alibaba and working hard and contributing to the partner organization mechanism, I want to return to education. Doing what I love will make me extremely excited and happy. ”

Zhang Jindong resigned as chairman of Suning.com and Suning.com has no actual controller

Not long ago, on July 12, 2021, another large e-commerce platform, Suning.com, issued an announcement stating that Zhang Near East resigned as chairman of Suning.com. Subsequently, on July 29, Suning.com issued an announcement stating that a new board of directors of Suning.com was elected and Huang Mingduan became the new chairman.

On the 4th of this month, former Chinese Super League Jiangsu Suning player Yang Jiawei asked for his salary through his personal social platform, saying, "I hope that Chairman Zhang of Inter Milan can think of our sorrow while enjoying the joy." A-share listed company Suning Tesco's 2020 annual report shows that Inter Milan boss Zhang Kangyang is the son of Suning founder and actual controller Zhang Jindong.

A reporter from the "Securities Times" reported on February 28 last year, "Since November 2020, Suning has repeatedly been involved in rumors of debt defaults and capital chain problems. Zhang Jindong and his son have acquired all Suning's controlling shares. Pledged to Taobao, borrowing 1 billion yuan. In 2021, Zhang Jindong and Suning Appliance Group's equity pledges became more frequent.

"According to the financial report, in 2021, Suning.com will have a predetermined non-net profit loss of 43.9-44.9 billion yuan, while the company's total market value on April 1 was only 32.4 billion yuan.

The highly tight capital chain is forcing Suning seeks change. On July 30, 2021, Suning.com issued an equity change announcement. The shareholding ratio of the actual controllers Zhang Jindong and his son dropped from 44.92% in 2020 to 21.74%, slightly higher than the 19.99% held by Taobao (China). But it is lower than the 22.55% shareholding ratio of Jiangsu New Retail Innovation Fund and Phase II

This means that after a series of capital operations, Suning founder and original boss Zhang Jindong. It has lost control of Suning.com. On March 25, when responding to investors’ questions on the interactive platform, the company’s secretary said: “The company currently has no controlling shareholder and no actual controller. ”

JD.com’s fourth quarter financial report last year showed that it achieved net income of 275.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.0%, and non-GAAP operating profit reached 2.8 billion yuan, which was better than last year’s 1.2 billion yuan. In the fourth quarter, when the overall consumption was sluggish, JD.com’s performance showed its resilience. The founders of the three major e-commerce platforms have all stepped down from the front line. 2

In recent times, there have been frequent changes in the senior management of multiple e-commerce platforms. On April 7, JD Group announced that Xu Lei, President of JD Group, will serve as CEO of JD Group, responsible for daily operations and management, and report to Liu Qiangdong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JD Group; Liu Qiangdong will devote more energy to long-term strategic design , major strategic decision-making, training of young leading talents and rural revitalization.

Previously, on April 2, Tianyancha App showed that Jiang Fan no longer served as Zhejiang Taobao Network Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Tmall Network. Co., Ltd. and the legal representative and chairman of Alibaba Xunxi (Hangzhou) Digital Technology Co., Ltd. Alibaba’s response is true. What is the hidden meaning behind the frequent changes in the executives of major e-commerce companies?

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JD.com’s management is ushering in the handover period, and Xu Lei, the “successor”, has high hopes

According to an announcement issued by JD.com Group on April 7, JD.com Group President Xu Lei will serve as JD.com The group CEO is responsible for daily operations and management and reports to Liu Qiangdong, chairman of the board of directors of Jingdong Group.

This is a special researcher of the E-commerce Research Center of the Internet Economic Society, a member of the Information and Communication Economy Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and a DCCI Internet Research Institute. Dean Liu Xingliang believes that Xu Lei succeeds Liu Qiangdong and becomes the CEO of JD.com.

"For example, 618 founded by Xu Lei, now 618 has been transformed from JD.com's store. It has evolved into a mid-year shopping festival for everyone to participate in. Together with Double 11, it has become two very lively festivals created by e-commerce from scratch. Another example is his proposal of ‘8pm’, which redefined ‘Double Eleven’. "Liu Xingliang said that even though it is only a 4-hour move forward, it is of great significance.

"The creation of 618 is from scratch, from 0 to 1 to 100, to create a shopping festival that everyone can participate in. , this is a very difficult thing; and proposing 8 o'clock later is another kind of difficulty, it is the difficulty of breaking the market rhythm for many years, and it is the difficulty of breaking the inherent perception of consumers. ”

Regarding Xu Lei taking over from Liu Qiangdong as CEO of JD.com, Mo Daiqing, director and senior analyst of the Online Retail Department of the E-commerce Research Center of NetEase, said that in recent years, Xu Lei Lei's position continues to rise and he plays an increasingly important role within the JD.com Group, moving from behind the scenes to the front. In addition, Xu Lei is already an "old man" at JD.com. The management team headed by him has also initially withstood the changes of time and It has been tested in practice, so it is expected that Liu Qiangdong will finally take over.

"Xu Lei faces many challenges, and the burden on his shoulders has expanded from JD.com retail to JD.com Logistics and JD.com. Health, JD Technology and other sub-groups. At the same time, he also serves as a director of Dada Group and Wanwu Xinsheng Group, which has more important responsibilities than before. ”

Liu Qiangdong will not completely stay away from the company’s business and look at JD.com from an existing perspective

The announcement issued by JD.com stated that Liu Qiangdong will devote more energy to long-term strategic design, major Strategic decision-making, training of young leading talents and rural revitalization.

In this regard, Liu Xingliang pointed out that Liu Qiangdong’s resignation as CEO also means that he will further stay away from front-line daily business and focus on long-term strategy. After resigning, Liu Qiangdong will still participate in JD.com’s monthly SEC (Strategy Executive Committee) meetings and quarterly business analysis meetings. He will not completely stay away from the company’s business, but will still participate in operational and strategic decisions.

“So, JD.com is different from the other two e-commerce giants. Both Jack Ma and Huang Zheng have completely withdrawn from the management of Alibaba and Pinduoduo, and their positions of chairman and CEO have been removed. . Liu Qiangdong is still the chairman of the board of directors of JD.com. ”

In Liu Xingliang’s view, if JD.com wants to win in the next decade, in addition to maintaining the stable operation of its existing basic market, it must also allow founders who have a deep understanding of the company to jump out of the existing perspective and re-examine JD.com. , Guiding the new quadrant of JD.com's development while ensuring that the development path does not deviate. After Liu Qiangdong steps down as CEO of JD.com, he will not completely stay away from the company's business, which will also help him to look at JD.com from an existing perspective.

Alibaba’s overseas business is expected to become a new engine for transaction scale and user growth

“With Jiang Fan stepping down as chairman of three Alibaba companies, it can be said that Jiang Fan’s Taobao era has passed. "Now it depends on Dai Shan's Taobao era." Mo Daiqing said that judging from the relevant financial report data currently released, there is a lot of pressure on the successor Dai Shan, and Taobao e-commerce is in urgent need of achieving new breakthroughs.

“For Jiang Fan, being transferred to manage overseas business is also an experience for himself, and the development of overseas business is also crucial to Ali.” In Mo Daiqing's view, in the face of the increasingly complex competitive environment in the industry and the pursuit of JD.com and Pinduoduo, Alibaba needs to make adjustments to cope with it. Taobao, as Alibaba's base, is constantly being divided, and overseas business is expected to become A new engine for Alibaba’s transaction scale and user growth.

"Therefore, Alibaba also needs to put its eggs in multiple baskets and develop more."

E-commerce giants have "retired" after different paths to the same end. Downplay the personal color of the company

In recent years, it has become the norm for Internet giants to “retreat”. Since last year, many Internet giant founders have announced their commitment to longer-term careers. Alibaba Jack Ma, Pinduoduo Huang Zheng, ByteDance Zhang Yiming, JD.com Group Liu Qiangdong, etc. have all "retired."

"Competition on the Internet is intensifying day by day, and competition among enterprises has shifted from 'tactical' to 'strategic' level competition," Mo Daiqing said. This move can further improve the company's organizational structure and add fresh "blood" , to ensure the sustainable development of enterprises.

In addition, in Mo Daiqing’s view, these founders undoubtedly “reached the same goal through different paths”, and choosing to “retire” is a kind of superb wisdom in dealing with the world. "It is not easy for them to take the initiative and gradually weaken their personal influence and control on the company at the most glorious moment of their lives, hand over the 'baton', ensure the company's smooth transition, and maintain innovation and vitality." Founder of the three major e-commerce platforms The average number of people retreating from the front line is 3

Today (April 7), the hottest topic of discussion on the domestic Internet is Liu Qiangdong’s resignation as CEO of JD Group. According to JD.com’s announcement, Group President Xu Lei will serve as CEO of JD Group and will be responsible for Daily operation management reports to Liu Qiangdong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JD Group.

Liu Qiangdong will devote more energy to long-term strategic design, major strategic decision-making and deployment, training of young leading talents and rural revitalization.

Some media found after sorting out that by now, the founders of the three major domestic e-commerce platforms have resigned as CEOs.

Before Liu Qiangdong of JD.com, on March 17 last year, Pinduoduo founder Huang Zheng announced that the board of directors had approved his resignation as chairman, and that co-founder and current CEO Chen Lei would take over. Earlier, on July 1, 2020, Huang Zheng issued a letter stating that the board of directors had approved his resignation as CEO, and that former chief technology officer Chen Lei would take over as CEO.

Although Huang Zheng is still a major shareholder of Pinduoduo, he said that he will combine more personal lifelong interests and devote himself to research in the fields of food science and life sciences for ten years. Later, Pinduoduo explored new space for high-speed, high-quality and in-depth development.

In addition, earlier, Jack Ma resigned as CEO of Alibaba Group in 2013 and stepped down as chairman of the board of directors in 2019.

In China’s Internet circle, there are many examples of founders quitting in a sudden rush, such as Suning Zhang Jindong who resigned as chairman, Zhang Yiming who resigned as chairman and CEO of ByteDance, etc.

Although some founders still play the role of shadow bosses, from the perspective of modern corporate governance, it can be said that the curtain of development in a new era has begun.