The announcement came as the company reported a 45% jump in sales in the first three months of 2014 to 17.4bn yuan ($2.81bn) – beating analysts’ estimates of $2.77bn.
Zhang will be tasked with trying to extend Alibaba’s reach into new markets. It has started sales in Russia, Brazil and India through its AliExpress service, but international sales accounted for just 9% of its revenue. Ma has set a target of getting 50% of sales from outside China.