Lazada’s chief strategy officer set to leave post

Magnus Ekbom, Lazada’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, is set to leave his current position at the Southeast Asian ecommerce company, Tech in Asia has learned.

Magnus Ekbom (left), co-founder of Lazada / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Ekbom, who co-founded Lazada in 2012, is the last member of the founding team to depart the firm.

Tech in Asia understands that Ekbom decided to step down because this is “a good time to leave and pass down the reins.”

In addition to serving as CSO, Ekbom has been the acting CEO of Lazada Malaysia since 2021. He was also the CEO of Lazada Indonesia between 2012 and 2016.

“Magnus Ekbom remains as an advisor to James Dong, Lazada Group CEO. We can still tap into his experience and deep knowledge of the industry,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to Tech in Asia.

It’s unclear whether Lazada would appoint his replacement.

This announcement comes about a month after James Dong was named as Lazada Group’s new chief executive officer.

See also: Org Chart: The people steering Lazada (updated)

The Alibaba-backed company has seen several leadership reshuffles during the past five years. Since original founder Maximilian Bittner quit in 2018, Lazada’s group CEOs have included Lucy Peng (2018), Pierre Poignant (2018 to 2020), and Chun Li (2020 to 2022).

Ekbom’s impending departure signals an end of era: He is the only remaining executive from Germany-based Rocket Internet, the VC firm that sold Lazada to Alibaba Group in 2016 for US$1 billion.

Meanwhile, Lazada is reportedly considering expanding to Europe after Jiang Fan – who heads Alibaba’s international digital commerce businesses – was in Singapore in April to discuss plans.

See also: Lazada eyes Europe in first expansion beyond SEA