www.alibaba.com/aboutalibaba/jack.html -
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Published on: 3/16/2007
Last Visited: 3/16/2007
Jack MaAlibaba: The World's Largest Base of Suppliers
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Jack Ma
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Jack Ma Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Jack and his team of 18 founders launched Alibaba.com in his Hangzhou apartment in March 1999 with a dream of making business easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises.Today, the e-marketplace they founded is the world's largest B2B e-commerce website, and the Alibaba Group employs more than 5,000 people, serving millions of businesses and consumers around the world.
Before founding Alibaba.com, Jack was an early pioneer of the Internet and e-commerce in China.In 1995 he founded China Pages, the first Internet-based company in China.He then accepted an invitation from China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) to head the information department of the China International Electronic Commerce Center (CIECC).
Under Jack's leadership, the Alibaba Group has expanded from its roots as a global B2B website and now operates five companies with leading positions in e-marketplaces (Alibaba.com and Taobao), search (Yahoo! China), online payment (Alipay) and business software (Alisoft).Jack steered Alibaba's acquisition of Yahoo! China in October 2005 and was the principal driver behind the creation of Taobao, Alipay and Alisoft.
Jack is often featured in leading international news media and speaks regularly at conferences around the world.In 2001, he was chosen by the World Economic Forum as a "Young Global Leader" and in 2004 he was selected by China Central Television (CCTV) and its viewers as one of the "Top 10 Business Leaders of the Year."He has been named as one of the "25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia" by FORTUNE in 2005, ranked 15th among "50 Who Matter Now" by Business 2.0 in 2006, and listed as one of the "50 Most Important People on the Web" by PC World in 2007.
Jack was born on September 10, 1964 and grew up in Hangzhou.He graduated from Hangzhou Teacher's Institute in 1988 with a B.A. in English and began his career as an English teacher.