Key Points

Ant Group President and CFO Cyril Han will replace Eric Jing as CEO starting next year.
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 the era of artificial intelligence in the next 20 years would “exceed everyone’s imagination.”

Ant Group President and CFO Cyril Han will take over as CEO starting next year, the fintech giant announced Sunday as it looks to reignite growth after Beijing’s crackdown on the tech sector.

Han will replace Eric Jing, who will remain as president, according to an email seen by CNBC announcing the changes. Han will inform Jing and the changes will take effect on March 1, 2025.

Ant Group, which runs mass payment 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 lucky to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Internet. However, the era of artificial intelligence in the next 20 years would “exceed everyone’s imagination,” Ma said, according to a transcript published by Chinese media.

It is a rare public appearance for Ma, who has been hit by the Chinese government’s regulatory tightening of the domestic technology sector. Ant Group’s record-breaking public listing was abruptly canceled by Chinese authorities in late 2020. Since then, Ant Group has been restructuring its business to comply with regulators.

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company co-founded by Ma, also came under scrutiny from Beijing.

The crackdown hurt the growth of many of China’s largest technology companies, but regulators recently softened their stance as the Chinese economy remains under pressure.