Ant Group Initiates Largest Executive Rotation in Nearly 7 Years at Alipay

Chinese fintech giant Ant Group’s Alipay business group has recently launched its largest executive rotation in nearly seven years. The reshuffle involved multiple departments and resulted in changes to the positions of several vice presidents and senior directors, LatePost reported on March 27.

The Alipay business group has recently established a Digital Product Division and an Alipay App Division. Chen Xianda, former head of the Alipay Merchant Open Technology Department, is now in charge of the newly formed Digital Product Division. The Alipay App Division is led by Li Jun, former product manager of the Alipay App. This is the first time that Alipay has established an independent division focused on the app since its inception.

Li Juan, the former General Manager of Alipay’s User Operations and Personal Business Unit, will serve as the General Manager of Alipay’s Digital Payment Business Unit. Chen Guanhua, the former General Manager of Alipay’s Digital Payment Business Unit, will be moving to Ant Group’s Digital Financial Services Group to oversee the operation of an insurance platform.

Wang Lijuan, former General Manager of Alipay’s Digital Business Unit, will take over from Yang Peng as the head of Alipay’s Digital Government and Enterprise Business Unit, which covers multiple businesses including public transportation (buses, subways, bicycles), car owners, and medical health. Yang Peng is responsible for Ant International’s Alipay+ business.

In December 2016, the Alipay business group underwent its most recent major adjustment. The reason for this round of personnel changes is that Alipay’s operations necessitate greater innovation and transformation.

Alipay is the primary business of Ant Group, which comprises two major sectors: digital payments and connectivity. Additionally, Ant Group operates in other areas such as digital finance, internationalization, and technology. Following the postponement of its IPO in November 2020, Ant Group initiated a rectification process and has since gradually separated from Alibaba Group in terms of personnel and business operations.

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Ant Group’s business growth potential has decreased significantly. Fidelity Investments, an investor in Ant Group, revised its valuation forecast for the company to $63.8 billion in late November 2020, a significant drop from the previous valuation of $235 billion before the IPO postponement. Similarly, BlackRock lowered Ant Group’s valuation to $110.6 billion at the end of September 2020 and T Rowe Price Group Inc reduced its valuation to $56.8 billion by November-end.