Jack Ma's Absence From His Conceived Alibaba Event Raises Curiosity Over His Role In Company

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA founder Jack Ma went missing from its mass wedding ceremony, triggering curiosity over his role in the company, Business Insider reports.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma had conceived the idea and typically attended the ceremony.

Ma went missing from the photos and videos of the event, and Chinese media reports did not mention his presence. Ma is still an Alibaba Partnership member, which elects the bulk of Alibaba's board members.

Ma even managed to appear at the 2021 Ali Day events amid an intense crackdown on his companies that saw him retreating from the public spotlight.

The current Chair and CEO, Daniel Zhang, officiated the wedding event for the past three years. Alibaba held a lilac-themed mass wedding ceremony on May 10, 2022, for its workers at its campus in Hangzhou, China.

Alibaba holds a mass wedding ceremony for 102 couples every May 10, believing that workplaces are appropriate for finding love. For the newlyweds to get married on Ali Day, at least one-half of each couple be an Alibaba employee.

Alibaba introduced the group wedding in 2006 as part of Ali Day, a company day out for its employees. Earlier this year, 1,206 couples applied to walk down the aisle as a part of this year's ceremony.

Ma stepped down as CEO in 2013, as Chair in 2019, and as a board member in 2020.

Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 2.48% at $82.47 on the last check Wednesday.

photo via Wikimedia Commons