Alibaba’s Jack Ma ranked No 3 in global tech innovation visionary survey by KPMG

Jack Ma Yun, the executive chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, has solidified his status as the face of China’s booming information technology industry in a new KPMG survey that ranked him as the third leading innovation visionary in the world.

Tesla chairman and chief executive Elon Musk and Apple chief executive Tim Cook were the only two business leaders ahead of Ma in the consultancy’s latest global technology innovation survey, which polled 841 hi-tech industry executives around the world.

“What Jack Ma has consistently done is rise up to the challenges in his industry with major initiatives,” said Egidio Zarrella, the head of clients and innovation at KPMG China.

Ma, who founded New York-listed Alibaba in 1999, has been leading the way for the rapid adoption of e-commerce in mainland China.

In October, Ma predicted a radical change in the global retail industry over the coming years, when the integration of online, offline, logistics and data across a single value chain transforms current e-commerce industry into “traditional business”.