Pierre Poignant to replace Lucy Peng as CEO of Alibaba subsidiary Lazada Group

Lucy Peng, one of 18 Alibaba co-founders (pictured), is stepping down from her current role of CEO of the e-commerce giant’s Southeast Asian subsidiary, e-commerce website Lazada, after only nine months in the position, according to reports from Bloomberg and Financial Times. Pierre Poignant, who served as chief operations officer at Lazada, and most recently as executive president, will succeed her as CEO.

Alibaba acquired a majority stake in the Lazada Group for about US$1 billion in spring 2016, when the company was four years old. In 2017, Alibaba boosted its stake in Lazada to 83 percent with another $1 billion investment, and in March of this year, it invested another $2 billion in the company. At the time, Peng said the move would  capitalize on the growing Southeast Asian market of e-commerce consumers, featuring “a young population, high mobile penetration, and just three percent of the region’s retail sales currently conducted online.” Lazada has 31 warehouses and operates in six countries in the region, including in Vietnam, the Phillipines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, according to Bloomberg and FT.

At the time of the most recent investment, Peng, who already served as Lazada’s chairwoman, was named CEO of Lazada. Following her departure from the role, she will remain a member of the board, Bloomberg reports. Alibaba is making moves to enhance its international presence with the expansion of its logistics network, Cainiao, adding “eHubs” in up to six cities in Asia, Europe and the Middle East “to meet the surging cross-border e-commerce needs.”