Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma has said on Friday (07) that he is scheduled to retire from the service on Monday (11) when he celebrates his 54th birthday.
In an interview with The New York Times, he said, he aims to spend his time for philanthropy focused on education after his retirement.
“Jack Ma will retire next week from Alibaba, the e-commerce giant that made him China's richest man. He says he wants to focus on philanthropy,” tweeted New York Times.
Ma, one of China’s top-most corporate figure, will retain his position on the company’s board of directors and continue to guide Alibaba’s management.
It is still unclear whether the company is going to appoint a new chairman. Also, There was no official statement from Alibaba on the retirement of the company’s top executive.
Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 which turned into a multibillion-dollar e-commerce giant which elevated him as a successful entrepreneur in the globe.
Speaking on his retirement, Ma said that his step down is the beginning of a new era instead of an end. Ma was stepped down as chief executive of the company in 2013.
In a paradox, Ma made his first statement on his retirement date in an interview with The New York Times when it is banned in China by ruling Communist Party censor.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV broadcast on Friday (07), he signalled about retirement plans saying he is intended to follow the path of Microsoft founder Bill Gates as philanthropic.
Ma looks after a number of charitable works in education and environmental sectors.
Alibaba founded by a group of 18 people led by Ma. As of now, Ma’s company has more than 66,000 full-time staff members, according to the company’s latest annual data.
Taylor Jones, Vinit Thakkar and Kyran Jones join forces to launch THG Indiagetty images
Taylor Jones and Vinit Thakkar come together to launch THG India getty images