Jack Ma just tapped a new president who promises to deliver the Goldman touch.
The ambitious chairman of Alibaba.com has hired former Goldman Sachs vice chairman Michael Evans to beef up the China-based e-commerce giant’s global merchandise networks.
First and foremost, that will mean building stronger ties with brands, manufacturers and retailers across Europe and the Americas to increase Alibaba’s access to coveted Western brands for everything from cosmetics to fashions to baby food.
Canada-born Evans, whose 20-year career at Goldman included a five-year stint as vice chairman that ended in 2013, has been on Alibaba’s board since the company went public last year.
Evans’s roles at Goldman included chairman of Asian operations, and he has known Ma for a decade. At least initially, he is expected to be based in New York as he tackles challenges that have included rampant counterfeiting of Western goods.