Alibaba Elevates E-Commerce Chief, Shrinks Key Leadership Body

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. elevated e-commerce head Jiang Fan while trimming the members of a longstanding leadership body, as the Chinese tech giant pivots toward AI and overseas expansion.

Jiang, who runs core Alibaba businesses including Taobao and Tmall, has joined a five-member Partnership Committee that in turn steers a group of partners that sit atop the company. That group, which nominates company directors among other things, has shrunk to 17 from 26 members, Alibaba said in its annual report released Thursday. The 39-year-old Jiang becomes the youngest member of the powerful body, which includes Chairman Joe Tsai and CEO Eddie Wu.