Peng, one of Alibaba’s 18 cofounders, held a series of high-profile positions at China’s largest online retailer—including chief people officer—before leaving to lead Ant Financial. The online payments company, originally Alipay, was spun off from Alibaba in 2011; Ant, its parent company was established in October 2014. It’s a big job—Ant was recently valued at $74.5 billion—and it’s one that Peng stepped away from late last year when Eric Jing was appointed CEO. Peng remains Executive Chair, and in that capacity she is in charge of talent cultivation, culture, and globalization opportunities.