Lazada president Jessica Liu to leave e-commerce company

JESSICA Liu, the president of Alibaba-owned e-commerce major Lazada, is leaving after a year and a half at the company.

She is departing the group to spend more time with her family, a Lazada spokesperson said.

Ms Liu was also the head of LazMall, the online marketplace on Lazada that houses authentic international and local brands. She became the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company's Thailand operations earlier this year.

Following the news of her departure, current CEO of Vietnam James Dong has taken on the additional role as CEO of Thailand, according to the company's webpage. Mr Dong was previously CEO of Thailand from June 2018 to June 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.

"Under (Jessica's) leadership, LazMall has grown to become one of the largest online virtual malls in South-east Asia. We want to thank Jessica for this and her many other contributions, and wish her well as she takes some time off to focus on her family," the company spokesperson said.

Ms Liu joined Lazada in 2020 from Alibaba, where she was general manager of Tmall Fashion and Luxury.

Lazada has gone through several frequent changes in its senior management since it was acquired by Alibaba. In June last year, it appointed Li Chun as its new group CEO, marking the third time the company has changed its chief executive since 2018.

In January, Lazada said co-founder and chief strategy officer Magnus Ekbom will take up the additional role of acting CEO of Malaysia. He replaced Leo Chow, who remained as a director at Alibaba Group for four months before leaving to found his own startup in Malaysia, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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