MercadoLibre Founder Marcos Galperin Resigns As CEO After 26-Year Run, Delivering 9,000% Return To Investors

MercadoLibre (MELI) co-founder Marcos Galperin will step down as CEO after 26 years at the helm of the e-commerce giant, which has become Latin America’s most valuable listed company.

Ariel Szarfsztejn, the company's current commerce head, will be the new chief executive beginning on Jan. 1. Galperin will remain the board's executive chairman.

U.S.-listed shares of MercadoLibre, which have staged an incredible rally this year, were down 3.3% in extended trading.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Galperin co-founded MercadoLibre in 1999 alongside three classmates from Stanford Graduate School of Business and eventually became the wealthiest individual in Argentina.

During his tenure, the company grew across Latin America through organic expansion and acquisitions, establishing a presence in 18 countries and launching its fintech business, Mercado Pago.

MercadoLibre went public on the Nasdaq in 2007, with a market cap of about $800 million. In 2021, it moved its headquarters from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Uruguay.

Since the listing, the company’s stock has delivered a whopping 9,043% return to investors.

More recently, MercadoLibre's market cap has jumped from $30 billion at the start of 2020 to just $132.1 billion.

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment climbed higher in the 'bullish' territory.

A user said in a lighter vein that Galperin was probably jealous "from watching Jeff Bezos tooling around on his yacht in the Mediterranean."

Another user said that the stock could slide further in Friday's session. "Aiming for 2450," they said.

MELI stock is up 53.3% this year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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