On the 10th, Alibaba founder Jack Ma posted a message titled “To Reform, To Innovate” on an internal forum, praising the courage of the new management team led by Daniel Zhang and Toby Xu, affirming that Alibaba has returned to a path of healthy growth, and expressing support for continued reform. This marks Jack Ma’s first extensive sharing of thoughts on company reform, innovation, and future prospects in five years since his retirement.
In his post, Jack Ma first commended the new management team led by Daniel Zhang and Toby Xu for their actions over the past year, stating that they “confronted problems and the future directly, believed in young people, fully empowered young teams, and made decisive and clear choices about what we need and what we don’t need,” which “not only broke through the fixed strategies of yesterday, but also built the future of Alibaba.”
Facing numerous doubts and pressures internally and externally over the past year, Jack Ma emphasized that “the road of reform and innovation never comes with applause,” but he has seen a strong and courageous Alibaba team emerge. He expressed gratitude to Alibaba employees for their dedication and responsibility over the year, stating that despite continuous changes and even decisions regarding IPOs, they continued to believe and persevere. “It is your perseverance that has enabled Alibaba to return to a path of healthy growth.”
In this post, Jack Ma extensively discussed innovation, emphasizing the importance of admitting and promptly correcting past issues and looking towards the future for reform. He predicted that the next three to five years in the internet industry would see monumental changes, making it a crucial time for innovation. He encouraged employees to always challenge themselves, to do things that others dare not do, do not want to do, or have never done before.