Industry

Yu Yongfu Takes Over as CEO of Alibaba’s Local Life Business Group After Resignation of Li Yonghe

Aug 12, 2021, 20:47pm2021/08/13 06:08:11 Pandaily

36Kr<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> reported that Yu Yongfu has taken over the position of CEO for Alibaba<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />‘s local life business group as Li Yonghe resigned. The cause for the resignation has become a major issue for the company since Li Yonghe’s subordinates are suspected of workplace harassment that has sparked a furor in the media.

In the past two months, the business group’s CEO has changed a few times, starting with Wang Lei, then Li Yonghe to and now, finally, Yu Yongfu.

About one month ago, Zhang Yong, Chairman and CEO of Alibaba<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />, announced that the firm would integrate three of its major location-based businesses, namely AutoNavi, Local Life and Fliggy, into its life services section. Li Yonghe would serve as the president of the local life business group.

SEE ALSO: Alibaba Announces Organizational Upgrade in Its New Life Service Sector

An employee of the sector told 36Kr<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> that the organizational adjustment was just completed a month ago and many responsibilities in the sector are still unclear. The interim senior executives and the previous CEO Li Yonghe have not been completed yet. The arrival of the new CEO means that the personnel deployment needs to start all over again.

Alibaba<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> has been gradually moving towards a section-based business model and moving away from its prior management-led model. In fact, AutoNavi accounts for a small proportion of Alibaba<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />‘s revenue. In 2020, the revenue brought by innovative businesses including AutoNavi and Dingding was less than 1% of Alibaba<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />‘s total revenue. But AutoNavi enjoys a large customer base. During a recent telephone conference on August 3, Zhang Yong said, “I hope that by the end of this fiscal year, at least 100 million users will enjoy various services around their destinations in AutoNavi.”