China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has appointed former Goldman Sachs executive Michael Evans as president of the group.
Evans has been serving as an independent director of the company since September 2014 and will now focus on the company's international growth strategies.
Alibaba has a strong e-commerce presence in China, but the company's top priority is expanding its presence in international markets.
Daniel Zhang, Alibaba's CEO, said globalisation will be the key goal of the company in the near future. The company aims to help nearly 10 million businesses around the world and serve over 2
billion customers.
"We have been laying the foundation for many years and now we need a global team in place with best-in-class talent to bring our vision to fruition. To that end, I can think of no one better than
Michael to help Alibaba become a truly global company," said Zhang.
Proven international leader
Evans will continue as a management member of the board and report to Alibaba's CEO Zhang.
Prior to joining Alibaba, Evans spent 30 years in global finance, including the last 20 years as a partner of Goldman Sachs, where he served as Vice Chairman, head of Global Growth Markets, and
Chairman of Asia.
"As we connect Alibaba and the rest of the world, we are turning to a proven international leader who has been connecting China and the rest of the world most of his career," said Alibaba
Executive Chairman Jack Ma in a statement.
Alibaba's international expansion strategy has had mixed results. Earlier this year, it sold its U.S. online shopping site called 11 Main, highlighting the struggle in mature markets dominated by
companies such as Amazon and eBay. In developing markets, Alibaba's products have had more success.
Nol van Fenema
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