Alibaba Aims to Break Into U.S. Market with Newly Named President

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is hoping an Olympic gold medallist once tipped to be the next CEO of Goldman Sachs will help it make it big in the U.S.

Michael Evans, who retired from the U.S. investment bank in 2013, forged a reputation as one of the most prolific deal-makers in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s native China during a seven-year stint in Hong Kong.

Now he is tasked with leading the e-commerce giant’s expansion outside its homeland, an assignment that will be particularly tough in the U.S. given regulators’ sometimes hostile attitude to Chinese firms buying American technology assets.