Jack Ma is our lead founder and, since May 2013, has served as our executive chairman. From our founding in 1999 until May 2013, Jack served as our chairman and chief executive officer. He is also the founder of the Zhejiang-based Jack Ma Foundation. Jack currently serves on the board of SoftBank Corp., a Japanese corporation listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He is also a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, a member of the board of the Breakthrough Energy Ventures, chairman of the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce, as well as chairman of the China Entrepreneur Club. In January 2016, he was named a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate by the United Nations. In September 2016, he was named special adviser of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for Youth Entrepreneurship and Small Business, which holds the rank of assistant secretary-general of the United Nations. Jack graduated from Hangzhou Teacher's Institute with a major in English language education.