MercadoLibre, Inc.

E-Commerce MarketplaceFounded 1999- HQ today: Montevideo, Uruguay

Leadership History

MercadoLibre: CEO History

Q: Who is Marcos Galperin and what is his entrepreneurial legacy at MercadoLibre?

Marcos Galperin co-founded MercadoLibre in 1999 and was CEO until the end of 2025. Since January 1, 2026, he has served as executive chairman, with Ariel Szarfsztejn as CEO.

Q: Who was Hernan Kazah and what role did he play in founding MercadoLibre?

Hernan Kazah co-founded MercadoLibre alongside Marcos Galperin in 1999, serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer until 2011. After leaving MercadoLibre, Kazah co-founded Kaszek Ventures, which became Latin America's premier early-stage venture capital firm.

Q: Who is Pedro Arnt and what was his contribution as longtime CFO?

Pedro Arnt joined MercadoLibre in 1999 and served as Chief Financial Officer for over 12 years (2011 to 2023). Arnt steered MercadoLibre through its landmark NASDAQ IPO, major capital raises, the launch of Mercado Pago, and large logistics expansion before joining dLocal as CEO.

Q: Who is Osvaldo Gimenez and how did he scale Mercado Pago?

Osvaldo Gimenez leads Mercado Pago as its CEO and has been with MercadoLibre since its early years, overseeing payments, credit and digital accounts.

Q: How did Marcos Galperin guide MercadoLibre through the 2001 dot-com bust?

When venture funding dried up during the 2000 to 2001 tech crash, Galperin cut overhead, focused steadily on unit economics, negotiated a strategic investment from eBay in 2001, and pivoted the company toward profitability, becoming one of the very few Latin American dot-com startups to survive.

Q: What was Marcos Galperin's leadership philosophy during the COVID-19 pandemic surge?

During the pandemic, when Latin American retail demand shifted online overnight, Galperin mobilized large capital into logistics, hired tens of thousands of warehouse workers, waived late fees for merchants, and accelerated fintech lending to keep small businesses operational.

Q: Who succeeded Marcos Galperin as CEO?

Ariel Szarfsztejn, previously president of commerce, became CEO on January 1, 2026.

Q: What is Marcos Galperin's long-term vision for MercadoLibre's next 25 years?

Galperin's stated focus as executive chairman is long-term strategy, while Szarfsztejn runs day-to-day operations across commerce and fintech.

Q: Who is the CEO of MercadoLibre?

Marcos Galperin serves as the CEO and Founder. He is an absolute legend in Latin American business, having run the company continuously since 1999. His absolute primary mandate has been aggressive, relentless expansion. Due to massive political and economic hostility toward corporations by the Argentine government, Galperin famously relocated to Uruguay, running the massive Argentine empire from across the river.

2 leaders · 1999 to present

Who is the CEO of MercadoLibre?

Ariel Szarfsztejn is the CEO of MercadoLibre, in the role since 2026. The first chief executive was Marcos Galperin, from 1999.

Current CEO: Ariel Szarfsztejn (since 2026)
First CEO: Marcos Galperin (1999)
Leaders documented: 2
Founded: 1999

Name	Role	From	To	Years in role
Ariel Szarfsztejn	Chief Executive Officer	2026	Present	< 1
Marcos Galperin	Founder & CEO (now Executive Chairman)	1999	2025	26

Who was CEO of MercadoLibre before Ariel Szarfsztejn?: Marcos Galperin was CEO of MercadoLibre from 1999 to 2025, before Ariel Szarfsztejn took over in 2026.

Company Overview

People often call MercadoLibre the Amazon of Latin America, but the comparison misses half the business. Besides the region's largest online marketplace, it runs one of its largest fintechs. Mercado Pago had 88 million monthly active users in Q2 2026 and manages $23 billion in user assets. The company is Montevideo-based, NASDAQ-listed and part of the NASDAQ-100. It was worth about $89 billion in late September 2026, down from more than $130 billion in mid-2025. The company is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. The absolute undisputed sovereign of Latin American e-commerce was founded in Argentina in 1999, surviving massive hyperinflation to build an empire that flawlessly combines Amazon and PayPal.

MercadoLibre makes money in two ways. Commerce (Mercado Libre) charges sellers commissions on marketplace sales, collects shipping and fulfillment fees through Mercado Envios, sells advertising through Mercado Ads, and runs some first-party retail. Fintech (Mercado Pago) charges merchants fees on online and in-store payments (QR codes and Point card readers) and earns interest on consumer loans, merchant loans and credit cards. Mercado Pago also holds user deposits: assets under management reached $23 billion in Q2 2026. Payment processing grew out of the marketplace, but most of Mercado Pago's volume now comes from outside it.

Ariel Szarfsztejn

Chief Executive Officer

2026 – Present

0 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Szarfsztejn orchestrated the absolutely massive, multi-billion dollar build-out of Mercado Envios (the logistics network), completely transitioning the company from relying on terrible state-owned postal services to operating its own massive fleet of yellow planes and trucks.

Legacy

As President of Commerce, he is the absolute driving operational force behind MercadoLibre's dominance, ensuring it can deliver packages faster than Amazon across the incredibly complex terrain of Latin America.

Source →

Marcos Galperin

Founder & CEO (now Executive Chairman)

1999 – 2025

26 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Founded MercadoLibre in 1999, agreed the 2001 eBay alliance, launched Mercado Pago in 2003, led the 2007 NASDAQ IPO, and built Mercado Envios from 2013.

Legacy

Led the company for more than 26 years before becoming executive chairman on January 1, 2026.

Source →

Challenges & Strategic Context

MercadoLibre operates in a dynamic macroeconomic and competitive environment across Latin America. Key operational challenges include managing high local inflation and currency volatility in Argentina and Brazil; defending e-commerce market share against aggressive cross-border Chinese competitors like Shein, Temu, and Shopee; navigating credit default risk across its rapidly expanding Mercado Credito consumer loan portfolio; and maintaining high logistics delivery density across geographically challenging terrains in Mexico and Brazil.

MercadoLibre CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Marcos Galperin and what is his entrepreneurial legacy at MercadoLibre?

Marcos Galperin co-founded MercadoLibre in 1999 and was CEO until the end of 2025. Since January 1, 2026, he has served as executive chairman, with Ariel Szarfsztejn as CEO.

Who was Hernan Kazah and what role did he play in founding MercadoLibre?

Hernan Kazah co-founded MercadoLibre alongside Marcos Galperin in 1999, serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer until 2011. After leaving MercadoLibre, Kazah co-founded Kaszek Ventures, which became Latin America's premier early-stage venture capital firm.

Who is Pedro Arnt and what was his contribution as longtime CFO?

Pedro Arnt joined MercadoLibre in 1999 and served as Chief Financial Officer for over 12 years (2011 to 2023). Arnt steered MercadoLibre through its landmark NASDAQ IPO, major capital raises, the launch of Mercado Pago, and large logistics expansion before joining dLocal as CEO.

Who is Osvaldo Gimenez and how did he scale Mercado Pago?

Osvaldo Gimenez leads Mercado Pago as its CEO and has been with MercadoLibre since its early years, overseeing payments, credit and digital accounts.

How did Marcos Galperin guide MercadoLibre through the 2001 dot-com bust?

When venture funding dried up during the 2000 to 2001 tech crash, Galperin cut overhead, focused steadily on unit economics, negotiated a strategic investment from eBay in 2001, and pivoted the company toward profitability, becoming one of the very few Latin American dot-com startups to survive.

What was Marcos Galperin's leadership philosophy during the COVID-19 pandemic surge?

During the pandemic, when Latin American retail demand shifted online overnight, Galperin mobilized large capital into logistics, hired tens of thousands of warehouse workers, waived late fees for merchants, and accelerated fintech lending to keep small businesses operational.

Who succeeded Marcos Galperin as CEO?

Ariel Szarfsztejn, previously president of commerce, became CEO on January 1, 2026.

What is Marcos Galperin's long-term vision for MercadoLibre's next 25 years?

Galperin's stated focus as executive chairman is long-term strategy, while Szarfsztejn runs day-to-day operations across commerce and fintech.

Who is the CEO of MercadoLibre?

Marcos Galperin serves as the CEO and Founder. He is an absolute legend in Latin American business, having run the company continuously since 1999. His absolute primary mandate has been aggressive, relentless expansion. Due to massive political and economic hostility toward corporations by the Argentine government, Galperin famously relocated to Uruguay, running the massive Argentine empire from across the river.