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ARGENTINA | 14-02-2020 16:12

Marcos Galperin resigns as president and CEO of MercadoLibre

Argentine entrepeneur, who has led website to multi-billion-dollar success, will be replaced by Brazilian businessman Stelleo Passos Tolda.

Businessman and entrepeneur Marcos Galperin will step down as president of MercadoLibre in Argentina, a position that will now be held by a Brazilian executive, according to reports.

The firm communicated the decision Friday through the Official Gazette, which indicated that the position of chief executive officer is now slated for Stelleo Passos Tolda, who was previously chief operating officer of the firm.

Tolda also manages the MercadoLibre business in Brazil, a country that generates 60 percent more revenue than its Argentine business.

 “It was decided to approve the resignation of Marcos Galperin as titular manager and president and Pedro Dornelles Arnt as vice-president; to appoint Stelleo Passos Tolda as titular manager and president; to assign the position of vice president to Osvaldo Rafael Giménez and to approve the distribution of management positions," said the text published this Friday.

Earlier this week, the company had presented its 2019 balance sheet, with a loss of US$172 million, due to an increase in investments and a significant increase in its operating costs. The company's deficit during the past year was 4.7 times higher than in 2018.

Despite this, no other company in Argentina has a higher valuation, with a market capitalization of over US$38.586 billion.

In addition, federal prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan recently denounced Galperin and the entire board of the company for alleged fraud against the State.   

The prosecutor believes that the company could have accessed insider information: he accused them of selling Treasury notes before the 2019 primary elections, which a few days later were re-profiled by the then Minister of Finance, Hernán Lacunza.

Galperín was one of the preferred businessmen of former president Mauricio Macri and a scruitineer for his Juntos por el Cambio in last year’s presidential elections.

—TIMES/NA

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