Q and A with a former Alibaba executive: Every crisis presents opportunities

Dear Readers,

This week’s column features Porter Erisman, an ex-vice president at Alibaba. He is also the producer of the film Crocodile in the Yangtze River – The Alibaba Story.

We reconnected and exchanged a few messages after he read this commentary. Given that he was with Alibaba during the SARS outbreak in 2003, I thought a Q and A with him would be helpful so he can share his experience with you.

I hope you find Porter’s insights useful. We’ve also unlocked our reports on Covid-19 so you can read it for free. If you like our work, please support us by subscribing.

• How the coronavirus outbreak will make China’s tech titans stronger than ever
• 8 in 10 Asian startups’ businesses hit by coronavirus outbreak: Tech in Asia survey
• Travel slumps, ecommerce thrives as coronavirus spreads
• Asian tech deals slow as novel coronavirus epidemic spreads

Q and A with Porter Erisman

Jack Ma and Porter Erisman (right)

What I learned from Jack and my colleagues at Alibaba was that the old adage is true – every crisis presents opportunities.

WW: When did you join Alibaba and what was your role?

PE: I joined Alibaba in April 2000, just as the company was moving out of Jack Ma’s apartment. For the next eight years I served as a vice president in a variety of international roles, ranging from marketing to website operations.

WW: Prior to SARS, could you describe the mood and general plans at Alibaba?

PE: SARS hit China – and Alibaba – in spring of 2003. It came at a time when the company had just reached profitability, and the mood was at an all-time high after a long internet winter that followed the dot-com bust. We were finally growing again and entered 2003 with big, ambitious plans to grow the company even more. But of course, when a colleague of mine was confirmed a SARS case, all those plans changed.

WW: That sucks, and it does sound familiar. Anyway, you were quarantined for 10 days – what happened? How was your work affected?

PE: In spring of 2003, we attended the Canton Fair, a very important trade show for us at the time. We had invested about US$300,000 for promotional activities at the event, so the team was hesitant to cancel. But because the Canton Fair was held in Guangzhou – the SARS epicenter – it proved risky and, in retrospect, foolish for us to attend.