China’s Alibaba Group, the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company in terms of gross merchandise volume, has announced the appointment of Michael Evans as president of the Group with immediate effect. In a press release it said, Evans will continue his service as a management member of the Alibaba Group Board, having previously served as an independent director since the company’s initial public offering in September 2014. Evans’ appointment highlights Alibaba Group’s strong commitment to globalizing its business. The company has made growing its business outside of China a top priority, and is also committed to significantly increasing cross-border trade between China and key markets. “Globalization is Alibaba Group’s most important strategy for the coming decades, and our goal is to help 10 million global businesses and serve 2 billion consumers around the world. 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 Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang. In this new role, Evans will be responsible for leading and executing Alibaba Group’s international growth strategy to globalize the company and grow the business outside of China. He will report to Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang. Evans will harness Alibaba Group’s leading platforms with direct access to 350 million Chinese consumers to drive increased levels of cross border commerce between China and the world. His early focus will be on forging close partnerships with key brands, retailers and product owners in Europe, the Americas and Asia to help these important players swiftly and efficiently connect to the large China consumer market. He will bring a strong emphasis on customer service, efficiency and productivity and, working closely with his colleagues in China, ensure that Alibaba will deliver a high quality experience to international merchants and consumers in China. “I am honored to be joining Alibaba and excited by the opportunity to lead Alibaba’s international growth strategy. I look forward to joining Daniel’s management team and working with a terrific group of people with whom I’ve developed strong relationships,” said Evans
