Alibaba, by far the largest e-commerce player in China, said hiring Evans signaled its intention to ramp up cross-border commerce in earnest after it spent years focusing on securing its domestic market position. Top executives have long touted the idea that connecting increasingly wealthy Chinese consumers with, say, South American meat producers or European toy makers would generate billions in additional revenue for the firm. Evans, who once headed Goldman's equity underwriting arm, has no direct experience in e-commerce but is trusted by Alibaba's management, having known founder Jack Ma and vice chairman Joseph Tsai for years. He will continue as a management director and lead Alibaba' growth strategy outside of China, reporting directly to Chief Executive Daniel Zhang, the company said. His position is newly created. Zhang said in a statement that glamorization is Alibaba Group's most important strategy for the coming decades.