• Naspers and Prosus have appointed Fabricio Bloisi as the new group chief executive officer.
• Bloisi grew Brazilian food delivery platform iFood from a startup of 20 people to one of the major food delivery platforms in the country.
• Bloisi’s appointment comes at a time where Naspers and Prosus are eyeing growth in the ecommerce sector.

The boards of both Prosus and Naspers have announced the unanimous appointment of a new chief executive officer.

That person is Fabricio Bloisi, who will now become the Group CEO following his role at iFood. According to a Naspers release, Bloisi acquired iFood in 2013 as a small 20-person startup. Today, iFood is a leading food delivery company in Brazil alongside Uber Eats and Rappi.

The forthcoming CEO joined Naspers on its board as an executive director in July 2021. He will also join the Prosus board in August if shareholders approve.

“It is an honour to be given the opportunity to lead Prosus and Naspers during a very exciting period of innovation and change within the technology space. I am proud that we have grown iFood into one of the largest and most successful brands in Latin America. This was driven by a passionate team balancing innovation with disciplined investment, while acting fast and empowering our great people. That combination is in my DNA, and I will bring it to my new role as Prosus and Naspers CEO,” Bloisi said in a statement.

Bloisi’s CV is rather impressive. He holds a degree in Computer Science from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and an MBA from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV/EAESP). His thesis focused on high-growth startups, innovation, and strategy. He also completed the EPGC program at Stanford Graduate School of Business and OPM at Harvard.

“Backing exceptional entrepreneurs who improve people’s everyday lives through technology has brought us some success over the years. Fabricio is an entrepreneur with a proven track record. His appointment as CEO places innovation and entrepreneurship at the heart of the Group,” Naspers and Prosus chair Koos Bekker said of the appointment.

Naspers and Prosus say that its strategic goals are unchanged and that despite the exit of Ervin Tu, the group says it’s on track to deliver on its commitments, including trading profit from its ecommerce ventures in the second half of this financial year. Naspers owns Takealot which now faces massive competition in Amazon.

The retailer appears to be holding strong for now, but as Amazon establishes more of a foothold, that may change. Naspers and Prosus also highlight that it will forge ahead with its share repurchase programme and more details will be provided when it releases its year-end results on 24th June.

Best of luck to Bloisi in his new position, we’re excited to see what he brings to the table, especially as regards Naspers and Prosus’ ecommerce efforts.