Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma would step down in a year

Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack1 Ma on Monday announced in an open letter that he would step down in a year, with the company CEO Daniel Zhang taking over as the chairman of the board.

In the letter entitled "Happy Teachers' Day," Ma said he would retire as the chairman of the board on Sept. 10, 2019, Alibaba's 20th anniversary.

Ma said he would work closely with Zhang to ensure a smooth transition and stay on the Alibaba board of directors until the annual shareholders2 meeting in 2020.

He said he had made preparations for a 10-year succession plan to develop a system of corporate3 governance based on culture and mechanism4 for developing consistent talent and successors.

Ma resigned from the post of CEO on May 10, 2013. He said the company ran smoothly5 for five years on the back of the institutional ingredients.