A 75,000-word internal manifesto has shattered the facade of corporate harmony at DingTalk, Alibaba’s enterprise collaboration giant. The document, titled 'Within DingTalk,' authored by product manager Yousu, detailed a toxic environment of extreme '9106' work schedules—9 a.m. to 10 p.m., six days a week—and 'upward management' that prioritized pleasing superiors over actual product utility. This grassroots rebellion led to an unprecedented move: the Alibaba Partnership Committee publicly rebuked the management style, leading to the abrupt departure of DingTalk’s legendary founder, Chen Hang.
Chen Hang, known by his alias 'Wuzhao,' had returned to lead the company just 437 days prior, tasked with steering DingTalk into the generative AI era. His management philosophy, forged in the early 'war' days against WeChat, relied on a high-pressure 'madhouse' environment. However, this strategy backfired in an era where AI development demands creative headspace rather than rote labor. The leaked details of 'Wangshu Action'—where employees were forbidden from leaving until their competitors at ByteDance’s Feishu turned off their lights—painted a picture of a leadership disconnected from modern talent needs.
Despite boasting a staggering 800 million users and 26 million organizations, DingTalk is facing a monetization crisis. Its conversion rate to paying customers remains below 1%, even as its rival Feishu gains ground with high-density, high-value corporate accounts. Chen’s vision was to transform DingTalk into an 'Agent OS' for the AI era, but the internal friction caused by his rigid, top-down command structure meant that strategic long-term projects were frequently abandoned in favor of 'daily builds' to satisfy executive whims.
In a clear signal of a generational shift, Alibaba has appointed 32-year-old Chen Yusen as the new CEO. A cybersecurity prodigy and AI-native entrepreneur, Chen represents a departure from the 'wolf culture' of the mobile internet era. His appointment suggests that Alibaba leadership recognizes that the next stage of tech dominance will be won by fostering innovation and attracting elite 'AI brains' who refuse to be treated like assembly-line workers. The transition marks the end of an era for the old guard and a desperate pivot toward a more flexible, technology-first organizational model.