Alibaba Co-founder Lucy Peng Steps Down from Ant Financial

Ant Financial Services Group announced today that Lucy Peng will be stepping down from her role as Executive Chairman of Ant Financial to focus on her new role. Peng has recently taken the helm as CEO of Lazada Group, the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, also a company majority-owned by the Alibaba Group. Eric Jing, CEO of Ant Financial, will be taking on the role as Executive Chairman in addition to his current role.

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Ant Financial Services Group is a major part of the Alibaba Ecosystem. It has 800 million users worldwide and is focused on serving small and micro enterprises, as well as individuals. Brands under Ant Financial Services Group include Alipay, which is ubiquitous in China, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit and MYbank.

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Lucy Peng had been leading Ant Financial since its inception in October 2014. She was the CEO and Executive Chairman from 2014 – 2016, and later served only as the Executive Chairman from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she was the CEO of Alipay from 2010 to 2014. Peng, also Lazada Group’s current Chairman, assumed the additional role of CEO only last month. She will be focusing on driving Lazada’s business growth as a key part of the global strategy of Alibaba Group.

Her successor Eric Jing says, “Lucy is not only a key member of the Ant Financial family, but also a mentor to me, personally. I am deeply grateful for her guidance, encouragement and trust. Lucy was instrumental in cultivating a world-class Ant Financial team. Together with our strong team, I look forward to continuing our work to bring the world equal opportunities, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to our values and vision.”

Eric Jing has held the position of CEO of Ant Financial since October 2016. Prior to that, Jing occupied multiple senior management roles within the Company, including COO, President and CFO of Alipay. In his new role, Eric will continue to promote financial inclusion, serving individuals as well as small and micro businesses in China and beyond.