Chen Zhang Joins JD.com as Head of R&D for JD Mall

BEIJING, April 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JD.com, Inc. JD, China's largest online direct sales company, today announced the appointment of former Yahoo! Inc. executive Chen Zhang as Senior Vice President of JD.com. Mr. Zhang, who will head Research & Development for JD Mall, will report to Haoyu Shen, JD Mall's CEO.

At Yahoo, Mr. Zhang established and led the company's Beijing Global Research & Development Center. In this role, he specialized in research related to personalization, advertising, mobile and cloud computing technologies. During his 18 years at Yahoo, he held a number of other senior roles, and led the development of the hugely successful Yahoo Messenger product.

At JD.com, Mr. Zhang will oversee JD Mall's R&D staff, focusing on research that will enhance the company's mobile applications, cloud computing and big data infrastructure. Daxue Li, who heads JD.com's R&D team, will be leaving to pursue personal interests. He will remain in his current role for several months to help facilitate a smooth transition, and then will continue to work with JD.com as an advisor.

"Chen is one of the most experienced executives in his field, not just in China, but globally," said Mr. Shen. "His breadth of experience has relevance right across our business, and we are confident he will have an immediate and lasting impact on our growth."

Mr. Zhang said, "I'm delighted to join JD.com at a very exciting time for the company. I believe JD.com is one of the most innovative companies in the industry, led by a team that truly understands how technology can drive strategic success. I look forward to working with them to develop new opportunities for JD.com to grow and prosper."

Mr. Shen said, "I would also like to thank Daxue Li for his contributions to the company and his role in building JD.com's exceptional R&D capability during the last seven years."

About JD.com, Inc. JD

JD.com, Inc. is the leading online direct sales company in China. The Company strives to offer consumers the best online shopping experience. Through its content-rich and user-friendly website jd.com and mobile applications, JD.com offers a wide selection of authentic products at competitive prices and delivers products in a speedy and reliable manner. The Company believes it has the largest fulfillment infrastructure of any e-commerce company in China. JD.com operated 7 fulfillment centers and a total of 123 warehouses in 40 cities, and in total 3,210 delivery stations and pickup stations in 1,862 counties and districts across China, staffed by its own employees. The Company provided same-day delivery in 134 counties and districts under its 211 program and next-day delivery in another 866 counties and districts across China as of December 31, 2014.