Staff Reporters
Sep 11, 2019

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

Celebrating its 20th anniversary and marking the departure of founder Jack Ma, Alibaba Group announced a refresh of its core values to help the company last 102 years.

Jack Ma appeared in rockstar regalia to sing a song at the Alibaba event.
Jack Ma appeared in rockstar regalia to sing a song at the Alibaba event.

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

 

Source:
Campaign China

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Related Articles

Just Published

Jan 29, 2026

Gemini 3 becomes the default model for AI Overviews

A pair of updates from Google see the tech giant attempt to gain a further foothold in the battle for AI-powered search supremacy.

Jan 29, 2026

Google criticised after blocking measurement ...

YouTube owner sent a 'cease and desist' letter to Barb and Kantar Media.

Jan 29, 2026

Inside Campaign Connect Indonesia: what matters to ...

Candid conversations on growth, AI and the cultural trade-offs of scaling brands, with more than 100 marketers in the room.

Jan 29, 2026

Meta hits $200 billion revenue milestone on ...

Meta reports double‑digit year-on-year revenue growth, with advertising once again accounting for almost all of the top line.