The head of one of the biggest companies in China, billionaire Jack Ma. (Photo : Reuters)
Jack Ma, executive chairman of the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group, will be sitting in as president for the newly formed social enterprise "Hupan University" on Monday.
Ma joins a list of other leading Chinese scholars and entrepreneurs, including Qian Yingyi, Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, and Feng Lun, Chairman of Beijing-based Vantone Group, that have recently assumed positions in the enterprise. Both Yingyi and Quan will serve as council members.
Based in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, Hupan University offers training programs and aims to develop a "new generation of business leaders who will maintain the bottom line and work for the betterment of society," according to a report from the Chinese Sina Web portal.
The organization will also follow a non-profit and "public goods structure" in its business operation, the report added.
A website, www.hupan.com, is also now online, featuring a statement claiming to "educate startup entrepreneurs with real entrepreneurial spirit."
Hupan, which means "lakeside" in Chinese, was also the name of the Hupan Garden residential area, where Alibaba started operations in 1999. Taobao, Alibaba's highly successful online shopping website, was also founded in the area in 2003.
According to anonymous sources quoted by Sina, Hupan University was borne out from former clubs from near Huangzhou's scenic West Lake area.
In 2014, the Party and State Council issued a regulation that prohibited private clubs from operating near or at historical sites in an attempt to curb extravagant lifestyles and bureaucracy among officials.
