Alibaba VP, Taobao Search Chief Resigns

Yvonne Chang told Sina on April 23 that she would resign as Alibaba Group vice president and head of the search center at Alibaba's consumer-focused e-commerce site Taobao.com in mid-May after taking leave starting at the beginning of the month. In an internal email reprinted by Sina, Taobao President Jonathan Lu said Chang would leave the company on April 30 for personal reasons. Chang told Sina she made the decision to resign more than a month ago, while Lu indicated that she would eventually return to the company.

According to another Sina report, Taobao's head of advertising and senior researcher for Alibaba Group, Wu Yongming, will assume Chang's post at the search center.

Chang told Sina that the majority of Taobao's revenue comes from pay-for-performance (P4P) search products. In the internal email, Lu said monthly sales revenue from Taobao's P4P products exceeded RMB 1 million in September 2008.

Lu said in the email that Chang organized a team of more than 60 members to optimize Taobao search within six months after the company's merger with Alibaba's online advertising exchange platform Alimama.com, which occurred in September 2008. Chang joined Taobao in January 2008 after having served as vice president of China Yahoo's search business, according to Sina.