17 May 2024
Fabricio Bloisi appointed CEO, Prosus and Naspers
Naspers Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1925/001431/06)
JSE share code: NPN ISIN: ZAE000325783
(Naspers)
Naspers today announced that the Boards of Prosus and Naspers have unanimously approved the appointment of Fabricio Bloisi as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Prosus and Naspers Group (“the Group”). The appointment is effective as of 1 July 2024.
Fabricio Bloisi assumes the role of Group CEO from his role as CEO, iFood. Fabricio acquired iFood in 2013 when it was a 20-person start-up. He has since grown it rapidly and profitably to become Brazil’s leading food delivery company. Fabricio is a proven entrepreneur and innovator with deep roots in operating, building and scaling world-class technology companies within growth markets.
The Board would like to thank Ervin Tu for his strong leadership of the Group over the last eight months as Interim CEO. Ervin will continue to play a critical role in shaping the Group’s future in a new position, President and Chief Investment Officer (CIO).
Koos Bekker, Prosus and Naspers chair, said, “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.
“Fabricio has established iFood as one of the most innovative food delivery companies in the world. Also, a famous brand in Latin America. He has a combination of vision, deep operational experience and strong discipline. It is this skillset which the Board believes make him the right person to now lead us.
“Ervin has done an outstanding job as our interim CEO. He navigated a challenging external environment, re-focussed our teams, and brought energy and vigour to bear. As our new President and CIO, he will play a fundamental role in shaping the Group’s future strategy, investments, and capital allocation.”
Fabricio Bloisi said, “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.
“I believe we are in an amazing moment, where technology disruption can change the life of billions of people for the better. A company like Prosus must play an important role in identifying new technologies, such as AI, that impact the world and specifically emerging markets. Our focus on innovation and discipline, combined with our outstanding people, knowledge, and culture, is a recipe for better experiences for our customers, opportunities for employees and better results for our shareholders long into the future.”
Ervin Tu, said, “Fabricio has an incredible operating track record, founders’ passion, is a champion of culture and has the vision to think big and bigger. We’re in the midst of a fascinating time of change in the technology industry. There are many opportunities ahead and I couldn’t be more excited to work alongside Fabricio on this journey.”
Fabricio Bloisi will join the Naspers board as an executive director on 1 July and the Prosus board following the AGM in August 2024, subject to shareholder approval.
The Group’s strategic goals remain unchanged, and it is on target to deliver on its commitments, including achieving consolidated ecommerce trading profit during the second half of FY24, and the continuation of the open-ended share repurchase programme. More information will be included in the year-end results to be published on 24 June 2024.
The company will convene a call with investors to discuss the announcement at 11:00am CET today, Friday 17 May. To join the call, register here.
About Fabricio Bloisi
Fabrício Bloisi is the founder of Movile and the CEO of iFood, the leading food delivery company in Latin America. iFood has over 5,000 employees, 350,000 partner restaurants, works with over 300,000 delivery partner couriers, and serves over 96 million orders per month. iFood directly and indirectly moved U$20 billion in gross production value, impacting 0.53% of Brazil's GDP in 2022.
Fabricio holds a degree in Computer Science from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and a MBA from 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.
He is personally dedicated to promoting education projects through his 1Bi Foundation to support education through technology. 1Bi supports projects such as Potência Tech, Meu Diploma do Ensino Médio, Movimento Tech, and the XPrize. In 2023, Fabricio was appointed as a UN spokesperson on education on SDG 4 for Brazil and also joined the economic and sustainable development council of the President of the Republic of Brazil.
Cape Town, 17 May 2024
Sponsor: Investec Bank Limited
Enquiries
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Investor Enquiries Eoin Ryan, Head of Investor Relations |
+1 347-210-4305 |
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Media Enquiries Shamiela Letsoalo, Communications Director: Media Relations SA |
+27 78 802 6310 |
About Naspers
Established in 1915, Naspers has transformed itself to become a global consumer internet company and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Through Prosus, the group operates and invests globally in markets with long-term growth potential, building leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities. Prosus has its primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam, and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Naspers is the majority owner of Prosus.
In South Africa, Naspers is one of the foremost investors in the technology sector and is committed to building its internet and ecommerce companies. These include Takealot, Mr D Food, Superbalist, Autotrader, Property24 and PayU, in addition to Media24, South Africa’s leading print and digital media business.
Naspers has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (NPN.SJ), a secondary listing on the A2X Exchange (NPN.AJ) in South Africa, and has a level 1 American Depository Receipt (ADR) programme which trades on an over-the-counter basis in the United States of America.
For more information, please visit www.naspers.com.
Naspers Labs
In 2019, Naspers Labs, a youth development programme designed to transform and launch South Africa’s unemployed youth into economic activity, was launched. Naspers Labs focuses on digital skills and training, enabling young people to pursue tech careers.
Response to COVID-19
Naspers contributed R1.5 billion of emergency aid to support the South African government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This contribution consisted of R500 million towards the Solidarity Fund and R1 billion worth of PPE sourced and distributed to South Africa’s front-line healthcare workers. In addition, Naspers contributed R6.9 million to the Nelson Mandela Foundation's EachOne FeedOne programme to support families who COVID-19 has impacted with meals for a year.