Marcos Galperin to leave CEO post after 26 years
Commerce head Ariel Szarfsztejn to become CEO on January 1
Markets react calmly to the leadership change
MercadoLibre shares close at all-time high
Rewrites throughout, adding context from company and founder's statements, context and background
By Andre Romani
SAO PAULO, May 21 (Reuters) - Marcos Galperin, who founded e-commerce giant MercadoLibre MELI.O and built it into Latin America's most valuable listed company, will step down as CEO at the end of the year, the company said on Wednesday.
Galperin will be replaced by the company's current commerce head, Ariel Szarfsztejn, beginning on January 1.
A native of Buenos Aires, Galperin co-founded MercadoLibre in 1999 with three classmates at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and went on to become Argentina's richest man.
The 53-year-old will now move "to a more strategic role" as executive chairman of the board, MercadoLibre, also known as MELI, said in a securities filing.
"I am absolutely convinced that Ariel Szarfsztejn is the right person to lead this new stage as CEO of MELI," Galperin said in a personal statement on social media.
Szarfsztejn, a 43-year-old masters graduate of Stanford's business program, joined MercadoLibre in 2017 and held several positions before assuming the commerce leadership role in 2023.
Santander analysts wrote in a note to clients that they saw the transition as a "natural progression" for Galperin and did not expect any strategic shifts as a result.
MercadoLibre, Latin America's answer to Amazon AMZN.O or China's Alibaba 9988.HK, has amassed a market cap of $131 billion.
Markets shrugged at Wednesday's announcement, suggesting investors were content with the transition and its timeline.
The company's shares, which debuted on the NASDAQ in 2007, closed on Wednesday at a record high.
Galperin, now a billionaire and one of the region's most influential entrepreneurs, told Reuters in September he would take a backseat "at some point" but signaled he would stay close to home if he did.
"I see so many opportunities in MercadoLibre. I think this is a place where I see the most opportunities ahead. If I were to start something new, it would be within MercadoLibre," he said at the time.
MercadoLibre: Latin American e-commerce giant soars https://reut.rs/3zmUS3D
(Reporting by Andre Romani; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Lucinda Elliot; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle, editing by Deepa Babington)
((Andre.Romani@thomsonreuters.com; 11 991314109;11 56447500;))
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