Jack Ma Says He Won’t Ever Come Back To Lead Alibaba After He Leaves Next Year

Jack Ma, the iconic co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, said Thursday that he will not return to run the company after his planned departure next year. That’ll still hold even if his successor is facing difficulties leading the tech behemoth, Ma said, adding that he expected to remain in frequent communication with the company. “I won’t come back, because I don’t feel like I have left,” Ma said in Mandarin at a World Economic Forum conference in Tianjin, China. Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang will succeed Ma as chairman of the board next September, the company announced earlier this month. Until that time, Ma will remain executive chairman. He plans to stay on the board of directors through the 2020 annual shareholders meeting, while focusing more of his time on philanthropy and education. Read more at CNBC.