Carsome appoints ex-Jardine exec to COO post as it eyes IPO

Photo credit: Carsome

Carsome, a used-car marketplace headquartered in Malaysia, is reshuffling its leadership team ahead of an anticipated IPO.

Eric Chan, a former senior executive of Jardine Cycle & Carriage, has joined Carsome as group president and COO, the company announced in a statement.

Chan brings with him three decades of experience in the automotive industry across Singapore and Malaysia. This includes the managing director role at Jardine Cycle & Carriage’s Singapore subsidiary as well as chairman for a Malaysian unit that operates Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the country.

“Eric Chan’s notable career in automotive leadership, particularly his work at Jardine Cycle & Carriage, makes the industry veteran a valued addition to our Carsome family,” said Eric Cheng, co-founder and CEO of Carsome.

In addition, Aaron Kee, who has been Carsome’s COO since June 2023, will become the firm’s group chief business officer. Meanwhile, Juliet Zhu, who had served as the company’s president, will move to an advisory role.

These developments come after Carsome brought in Miguel Fernandez as its group CFO last November. Prior to his role in Carsome, Fernandez was the group CFO of Philippine fintech company Maya.

Carsome has been seeking a Malaysian government license for providing commercial vehicle inspection and ownership transfer services. Its rival Carro is also vying for the license.

In June 2023, Carsome raised an undisclosed amount of funding, which it said boosted liquidity to US$200 million. While the round appears to be part of its IPO preparations, the company has not announced when and where it will go public.

See also: Carsome, Carro are lobbying for a ‘golden goose’ but winning it is tricky