Cape Town - Naspers CEO Koos Bekker is stepping down and will be replaced by Bob van Dijk, the company announced on Saturday.
“In view of our strong development focus on ecommerce, the board believes that Bob has the skills to lead us into the next phase of our growth,” said Ton Vosloo, Naspers chair.
Van Dijk takes over on 1 April.
The company said Bekker will stand down from the Naspers board for a year, to allow Van Dijk the space to settle in with both Naspers top management and the board. He will stay on the Tencent board.
In a further change Vosloo will stand down as chair in April 2015, when Bekker will succeed him.
Van Dijk, 41, holds an MSc Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and an MBA from Insead in France. Among other experience, he headed up eBay Germany, that group’s biggest market outside the US, and was COO of Schibsted’s Classifieds.
Bekker expressed his gratitude to his Naspers colleagues and board members for the opportunity to work with them.
"It’s been fun," he said. "I couldn’t have wished for a more interesting life."
“Now I hope to travel to places like Seoul and San Francisco where the future is being manufactured, and see if there are new technologies we should be trying out. Plus experience a few oddball spots. When Ton steps down, I’ll rejoin the board, hopefully with fresh ideas,” he said.
Van Dijk lives in the Netherlands with his wife Tina, a senior finance executive, and two young daughters. He is a keen sportsman and speaks five languages.
“Naspers is a great company and I’m honoured to lead an excellent team,” Van Dijk said.
“In view of our strong development focus on ecommerce, the board believes that Bob has the skills to lead us into the next phase of our growth,” said Ton Vosloo, Naspers chair.
Van Dijk takes over on 1 April.
The company said Bekker will stand down from the Naspers board for a year, to allow Van Dijk the space to settle in with both Naspers top management and the board. He will stay on the Tencent board.
In a further change Vosloo will stand down as chair in April 2015, when Bekker will succeed him.
Van Dijk, 41, holds an MSc Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and an MBA from Insead in France. Among other experience, he headed up eBay Germany, that group’s biggest market outside the US, and was COO of Schibsted’s Classifieds.
Bekker expressed his gratitude to his Naspers colleagues and board members for the opportunity to work with them.
"It’s been fun," he said. "I couldn’t have wished for a more interesting life."
“Now I hope to travel to places like Seoul and San Francisco where the future is being manufactured, and see if there are new technologies we should be trying out. Plus experience a few oddball spots. When Ton steps down, I’ll rejoin the board, hopefully with fresh ideas,” he said.
Van Dijk lives in the Netherlands with his wife Tina, a senior finance executive, and two young daughters. He is a keen sportsman and speaks five languages.
“Naspers is a great company and I’m honoured to lead an excellent team,” Van Dijk said.