J. Michael Evans

{{Short description|Canadian rower and business executive (born 1957)}}

{{infobox sportsperson

|name = J. Michael Evans

|image = J. Michael Evans at World Economic Forum Davos 2022.png

|caption = Speaking at the 2022 World Economic Forum

|birth_name = John Michael Evans

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|8|16}}

|birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada

|education = Princeton University, University College, Oxford

|occupation = Technology executive

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{CAN}} }}

}}

John Michael Evans (born August 16, 1957) is a Canadian technology executive and the President of Alibaba Group. He previously spent 20 years working for U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs and is a former Olympic rower.

Early life, family and education

Evans was born to Dr. John Robert Evans and his wife Jean on August 16, 1957. Besides his twin brother Mark, he has four other siblings: Derek, Gillian (Gill), Timothy (Tim), and Willa.{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=john-robert-evans&pid=174150357|title=John Evans Obituary |website=Toronto Star |access-date=2023-11-01}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/john-evans-family-donates-10-million-to-mars/article548893/|title=John Evans family donates $10-million to MaRS|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=February 23, 2012 |last1=Perkins |first1=Tara }}{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-humble-man-of-many-talents-john-evans-reinvented-medical-education/article23349905/|title=A humble man of many talents, John Evans reinvented medical education|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=March 6, 2015 |last1=Stoffman |first1=Judy }}

He attended Upper Canada College in Toronto and received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University.{{cite news |title=Michael Evans of Alibaba on Singles Day and Olympic Rowing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/business/corner-office-michael-evans-alibaba.html |first=David |last=Gelles |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 19, 2018 |access-date=2023-11-01}} He later studied at University College, Oxford{{cite web|title=Oxonian Olympians |publisher=University of Oxford |url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/oxford_people/famous_oxonians/oxonian_olympians/index.html |access-date=August 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920083635/http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/oxford_people/famous_oxonians/oxonian_olympians/index.html |archive-date=September 20, 2012 }} where he rowed stroked the Oxford boat in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.{{cite news|last=Dheensaw|first=Cleve|title=Victoria's Howard looks to stroke Oxford to victory in Boat Race|url=http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/victoria-s-howard-looks-to-stroke-oxford-to-victory-in-boat-race-1.85045|access-date=March 30, 2013|newspaper=Victoria Times-Colonist|date=March 4, 2013}}{{cite news|title=Canadian helps Oxford win annual University Boat Race over Cambridge |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/canadian-helps-oxford-win-annual-university-boat-race-over-cambridge-1.1400917 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402014115/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2013/03/31/sp-oxford-cambridge-malcolm-howard.html |archive-date=April 2, 2013 |access-date=April 6, 2013|newspaper=CBC Sports|date=March 31, 2013|url-status=live |agency=The Canadian Press}} Alongside his twin brother Mark, Evans went on to join the Canadian Olympic team, where he won a gold medal in rowing at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.{{cite web|title=J. Michael Evans |url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/j-michael-evans/|website=The Canadian Olympic Committee|date=August 25, 2020}}

Career

In 2015, Evans was appointed President of Alibaba Group, where he leads Alibaba Group’s international growth strategy outside of China and reports to CEO Daniel Zhang.{{cite web|title=Alibaba Group Names Michael Evans as President |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-group-names-michael-evans-as-president-1438682344|website=The Wall Street Journal|date=August 4, 2015}} Evans has served on the board of Alibaba Group since its September 2014 IPO, and has known Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma since 1999 when Ma first approached Goldman Sachs regarding an early investment in the company. Evans was named as one of the National Retail Federation’s Power Players in 2019 for his work at Alibaba Group.{{cite web|title=The Power Players 2019 |url=https://nrffoundation.org/power-players-2019|website=NRF Foundation|date=September 7, 2020}}

In addition, Evans is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Barrick Gold Corporation and several not-for-profit organizations.{{cite web|title=J Michael Evans President, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/1800150|website=Bloomberg|date=September 8, 2020}}

He is also a trustee of the Asia Society and a member of the Advisory Council for the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University.{{cite web|title=Michael Evans |url=https://luxurylawsummit.com/speaker/michael-evans/ |website=Luxury Law Summit|date=September 7, 2020}}

Before Alibaba Group, Evans was vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia and spent 19 years as a Partner after joining the firm in 1993.{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/01/27/goldman-sachs-new-emerging-markets-head-an-olympic-gold-medalist/|title= Michael Evans: A Closer Look at Goldman Sachs' New Wonder Boy|date=January 27, 2011|publisher=Wall Street Journal}}

In the high-profile IPO, Goldman was one of six lead underwriters with Mark Schwartz, chairman of Goldman Asia Pacific, named as lead banker for Goldman in a lead-up New York Times report.de la Merced, Michael J., [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/the-six-banks-who-are-leading-alibabas-giant-i-p-o/ "The Six Banks Leading Alibaba’s Giant I.P.O."], New York Times Dealbook, May 6, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2015.

In 2019 Evans was charged for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, which took place during his time at Goldman Sachs, which was settled.{{cite news |title=Alibaba President Among Those Malaysia Charged in 1MDB Deal

|first=Lulu Yilun |last=Chen |date=August 9, 2019 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/alibaba-president-among-those-malaysia-charges-over-1mdb-deal |publisher=Bloomberg }}

{{cite web|title=Goldman Sachs settles 1MDB case with Malaysia for $3.9bn |url=https://www.ft.com/content/b2bd3773-7eb1-4440-8b2e-f1250f942a78 |website=Financial Times|date=July 24, 2020}}

Philanthropy

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Evans was personally involved in several philanthropic efforts to donate personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers in New York.{{cite news |title=Frantic for Coronavirus Gear, Americans in Need Turn to China's Elite |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/business/us-china-coronavirus-donations.html |first1=Alexandra |last1=Stevenson |first2=Nicholas |last2=Kulish |first3=David |last3=Gelles |newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 24, 2020}} New York Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged in a press briefing that Alibaba Group’s and Evans’ assistance had been “very helpful to us.”{{cite news |first1= Noah |last1=Higgins-Dunn |first2=Berkeley |last2=Lovelace Jr. |first3=Will |last3=Feuer |first4=Dan |last4=Mangan |title=New York Gov. Cuomo says state saw its biggest single-day increase in coronavirus deaths on Thursday |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/new-york-gov-cuomo-says-state-saw-its-single-biggest-increase-in-coronavirus-deaths-yesterday.html |publisher=CNBC |date=April 3, 2020}}