Alibaba's Ant Financial Appoints New CEO

(Beijing) — Ant Financial Service Group, the financial arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has appointed a veteran fundraiser to the top job ahead of Ant Financial's plans to go public in 2017.

In an e-mail to employees on Saturday, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma said Ant Financial President Eric Jing will replace Peng Lei as the company's CEO. Peng — an Alibaba co-founder who has headed Ant Financial since its inception in 2014 — will retain her role as chairman.