India-based Thakar to lead global OLX Autos business unit of Prosus-owned classifieds leader OLX Group – shaping the future of how people buy and sell cars across four continents.
Gurgaon, February 22, 2021: Prosus-owned OLX Group, a global leader in classifieds marketplaces, today announced the appointment of Gautam Thakar as global CEO of OLX Autos effective March 15, 2021. Thakar will lead a worldwide organisation with a workforce of more than 4,000 employees across Asia, Africa, Latam, and the United States.
OLX Autos is shaping the future of car trade by bringing peace-of-mind to car buyers and sellers in one of life’s biggest transactions, addressing a $100Bn car market opportunity in countries where it operates. OLX Autos runs online digital trading platforms in addition to more than 500 inspection centres across the Americas, Asia and Africa, each year inspecting 300,000 vehicles and enabling 130,000 vehicle transactions.
Most recently, Thakar was CEO of Star Sports in India which was acquired by the Walt Disney Company. Prior to that Thakar was in the United States for over a decade and brings deep leadership experience in pioneering digital marketplaces as former global CEO of Shopping.com and LivingSocial (acquired by Groupon). Thakar was a part of the founding management team of baazee.com which pioneered ecommerce in India before being acquired by eBay in 2005.
Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO, OLX Group, said, “I’m extremely pleased to welcome Gautam as Global CEO of OLX Autos. He brings a unique set of capabilities to this exciting opportunity including an exceptional general management track record, strong customer orientation, deep marketplace experience, and a rich experience leading and inspiring teams on a global footprint. We will all benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience as we bring convenience and trust to the way people buy and sell cars.”
Commenting on his appointment, Gautam Thakar said, “I am delighted with the opportunity and responsibility to lead the impressive global OLX Autos team. I’ve long watched the bold and ambitious approach taken by Naspers and Prosus as they’ve built great companies in so many exciting markets, including India. OLX Group’s commitment to this business is unparalleled and I am inspired to join the team to build the world’s most trusted platform for buying and selling cars.”
Thakar brings a strong consumer focus from his early days of his career as a brand manager at P&G in Asia and a stint leading international marketing for eBay marketplaces. He has lived and worked in India, Philippines and the US and managed country teams across 15+ markets throughout his career. He will remain based in India in his new global role, and starts March 15, 2021.
About OLX Group and Prosus:
OLX Group operates the fastest-growing network of trading platforms globally. Serving 300 million people every month in 30+ countries around the world, OLX Group helps people buy and sell cars, find housing, get jobs, buy and sell household goods, and much more. With more than 20 well-loved local brands including Avito, OLX, Otomoto, letgo, and Property24, its solutions are built to be safe, smart, and convenient for its customers.
OLX Group is powered by a team of 10,000+ people around the world, who are unified in their ambition to shape the future of trade to unlock the hidden value in everything. For more information, visit www.olxgroup.com.
OLX Group is the online classifieds business of Prosus, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX:PRX) and secondary listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (XJSE:PRX) and a2X Markets (PRX.AJ), and is majority-owned by Naspers. For more information on Prosus and its companies and investments, please visit www.prosus.com.
