Alibaba’s former CEO Daniel Zhang Yong joins Beijing-based investment fund Firstred Capital

Daniel Zhang Yong, who stepped down as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group Holding last year, has joined Chinese investment fund Firstred Capital.

The internet industry veteran, who spent 16 years climbing the ranks at South China Morning Post owner Alibaba, will assume the role of managing partner at Firstred Capital, focusing on Chinese mergers and acquisitions, the investment house announced on its WeChat account on Thursday.

Zhang, who will work alongside Firstred founder Liu Xiaodan, said they will combine their expertise in corporate management, industry operations and capital markets to build “core competitiveness” in “future-facing M&A investments”, according to the post.

Liu said Zhang “will further strengthen the team’s professional capabilities, expand its global vision, and accelerate its upgrade”.

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Alibaba names co-founder Joe Tsai chairman, in surprise shake-up as Daniel Zhang steps down

Alibaba names co-founder Joe Tsai chairman, in surprise shake-up as Daniel Zhang steps down

At the time, Tsai said in a letter to staff that Alibaba will invest US$1 billion in a technology fund established by Zhang to “support Alibaba’s strategy of investing for future growth and continuing to develop our technology ecosystem”.

It is unclear whether that planned investment is related to Firstred. Neither Alibaba nor Firstred immediately responded to requests for comment on Thursday.

Founded in 2019, Firstred maintains a relatively low profile in the investment industry.

Its portfolio spans the healthcare, consumer, industrial and technology sectors, with investments in BYD Semiconductor – a chip-manufacturing subsidiary of the world’s largest electric vehicle vendor BYD – and chip maker Jiangsu Changjing Electronics Technology, according to its official website.

In 2021, Firstred raised 6.8 billion yuan (US$944 million) for its first renminbi fund. The Beijing-based firm counts institutional investors, including insurers, funds of funds, founders and blue-chip companies as partners, according to its website.

Before establishing Firstred, Liu served as president and chairwoman of top Chinese brokerage Huatai United Securities. She was also chairwoman of New York-listed AssetMark Financial Holdings, a unit of Huatai International Investment Holdings providing wealth management services in the US.

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Zhang, who left Alibaba just months after the e-commerce giant unveiled its largest-ever restructuring plan, first joined the company in 2007 as chief financial officer of the e-commerce platform Taobao.

After bringing in 50 million yuan in sales on debut in 2009, the online shopping bonanza has become increasingly popular, raking in 540.3 billion yuan in gross merchandise value in 2021, the last time Alibaba announced such figures.

Zhang was later promoted to president of online shopping platform Tmall and Alibaba’s chief operating officer, before taking over as CEO in 2015. In 2019, he succeeded founder Jack Ma as Alibaba’s chairman.