Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, speaks during the 2020 China Green Business Summit on September 29, 2020 in Haikou, Hainan Province, China.
Liu Yang | China Optical Group | Getty Images
Cyril Han, president and chief financial officer of Ant Group, will take over as CEO starting next year, the fintech giant announced on Sunday, as it looks to revive growth following Beijing's crackdown on the technology sector.
Hahn will take over from Eric Jing, who will remain chairman of the board, according to an email seen by CNBC announcing the changes. Han will report to Jing and the changes will take effect on March 1, 2025.
Ant Group, which runs the massive payments app Alipay, is one of China's largest technology companies. The management changes were announced as part of the company's 20th anniversary celebrations which also included a speech from Alibaba and Ant Group founder Jack Ma.
Ma said his generation was fortunate to seize the opportunities provided by the Internet. However, Ma said, according to a transcript published by Chinese media, that the era of artificial intelligence over the next 20 years will “beyond everyone's imagination.”
It is a rare public appearance from what has been affected by the Chinese government's regulatory tightening on the domestic technology sector. Chinese authorities abruptly canceled Ant Group's public listing, which would have been record-breaking, at the end of 2020. Since then, Ant Group has been working to overhaul its business to be compliant with regulators.
Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company he co-founded, has also been the subject of Beijing's scrutiny.
The crackdown has hurt the growth of many of China's largest technology companies, but regulators have recently softened their stance as China's economy remains under pressure.
