Daniel Zhang

Daniel Zhang is the managing partner of Firstlight Capital. Prior to joining the fund, he served as chief executive officer of Alibaba Group from 2015 and its chairman from 2019 until 2023. He was also a founding member of the Alibaba Partnership.

Daniel joined Alibaba Group in 2007 where he held numerous key positions, including chief financial officer of Taobao Marketplace; general manager and president of Tmall.com; chief operating officer of Alibaba Group; chairman of Cainiao Network; and chairman and chief executive officer of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, in addition to his other key positions until 2023.  

Before joining Alibaba Group, Daniel was chief financial officer of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited between 2005 and 2007. He started his career at Arthur Andersen and PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1995 to 2005.

Daniel is currently an independent non-executive director of Hysan Development Company Limited. He is a member of Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Mainland China Advisory Group and an independent member of the board of directors for the Saudi Tourism Authority. He previously served as a member of the World Economic Forum International Business Council and as co-chair of the Consumer Goods Forum in both its global and China boards. Daniel graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics with a bachelor’s degree in finance.