The world now knows that, in a year’s time, Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma will surrender his position as executive chairman to Alibaba’s current CEO, 46-year old Daniel Zhang. In the global media last week, profiles of Zhang have contrasted his background as a buttoned-down accountant with Ma’s rags-to-riches story, impassioned oratory, and flamboyant public appearances.

Many predict Zhang will find Ma a “tough act to follow,” or warn he has “big shoes to fill.” The Wall Street Journal snickered that the nickname Zhang chose for himself within the company, taken from a martial arts character whose name means “free and unfettered spirit,” was wishful thinking. Veteran China tech analyst Duncan Clark described Zhang as “more Clark Kent than Superman.” On last Monday, after Alibaba’s announcement Ma will step down, BABA’s stock price slumped nearly 3%.

The guy who seemed least worried about Alibaba’s fate was Ma, who heaped praise on Zhang in a letter to staff: “His analytical mind is unparalleled…and he has the guts to innovate and test creative business models.”

Zhang’s rise to the top of China’s most powerful tech group had several false starts. After graduating from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, he was set to work for Barings, the British bank, until it collapsed. His next prospect, Arthur Anderson, was done in by the Enron scandal. Zhang eventually landed at PwC, and from there jumped to Shanda, a leading online gaming company. He joined Alibaba in 2007 as chief financial officer of Tabao, the group’s online e-commerce platform, and rose swiftly up the ranks.

At Alibaba, Zhang’s track record is impressive. He is the architect of Singles Day, an event created to promote online spending by China’s singletons that, over nine years, has transformed November 11 into the world’s biggest shopping extravaganaza. Zhang is the brains behind Alibaba’s Hema supermarket franchise and, more recently, he spearheaded the Chinese tech giant’s partnership with Starbucks.

Zhang assumes the reins amid turbulent times for Chinese tech companies. But I’m inclined to agree with Henny Sender, who argues Alibaba has “never looked stronger.” Its major rivals—Tencent, JD.com, Didi, and Baidu—grapple with bigger challenges. And they remain under the thumb of original founders while Alibaba is transferring control to younger, more execution-oriented leaders. As China’s tech sector moves into its next, more mature phase of evolution, Clark Kent may be just the superhero the times require.

目前，全世界都已经知道，阿里巴巴集团创始人马云将在一年后辞去执行主席一职，让位给集团当前的首席执行官、46岁的张勇。在上周的全球媒体上，有关张勇的介绍都会将他描述成一名守旧的会计，而作为鲜明对比，马云则被刻画成一位白手起家的企业家和慷慨激昂的演说家，而且在公共场合也是非常有范。

很多人预测，张勇会发现马云“难以超越”，还有人警告说，“新任压力山大”。《华尔街日报》则调侃道，张勇在公司内部为自己选的昵称（逍遥子——译注）取自于武侠小说中的角色，意为“自由不羁的精神”，但这只是他自己的一厢情愿罢了。Veteran China的科技分析师邓肯·克拉克认为张勇走的是“克拉克·肯特路线，少了些超人气质”（漫画中超人的普通人身份是克拉克·肯特——译注）。在阿里巴巴于上周一宣布马云将退位之后，其股价下跌近3%。

似乎最不担心阿里巴巴前景的莫过于马云，他在给员工的信中对张勇大加赞赏：“他具有超级计算机般的逻辑和思考能力……敢于站在未来创新设计新型商业模式和业态。”

张勇在晋升为中国最强大科技集团的最高职务之前也走了不少弯路。在从上海财经大学毕业之后，他开始在英国巴林银行工作，直到公司破产。他的下一个雇主安达信因安然丑闻而倒闭。张勇最终来到了普华永道，然后跳到了领先的网络游戏公司盛大。他于2007年加入阿里巴巴，担任集团在线电商平台淘宝的首席财务官，然后一路平步青云。

在阿里巴巴，张勇有着辉煌的战绩。他是双十一购物节的构建者。该节日的创建初衷是促进中国单身青年的线上消费，经过9年的发展，他已经将11月11日转变为了全球最大的购物狂欢节。张勇是阿里巴巴盒马鲜生超市背后的策划人，而且最近，他主导了阿里巴巴与星巴克的合作。

张勇在中国科技公司的动荡年代接过了马云的指挥棒。但我倾向于亨尼·森德的观点，他认为阿里巴巴“正处于最强盛的时期”。其主要对手腾讯、京东、滴滴和百度，都在努力应付更大的挑战，而且这些公司依旧在原始创始人的掌控之中，而阿里巴巴却将重任交给了更加年轻、更看重执行力的领导手中。随着中国科技领域的革命进入新的、更加成熟的阶段，这位克拉克·肯特型的人物说不定恰好就是时代所需要的超级英雄。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林