Prosus and Naspers Group names Fabricio Bloisi as new CEO

Fabricio Bloisi incoming CEO of Prosus and Naspers Group

Prosus and Naspers Group, an investor in Indian startups such as Swiggy, on May 17 named Fabricio Bloisi, the former CEO of iFood, as its new chief executive officer. He will assume the role on July 1.

Prosus first backed iFood in 2013 and then acquired the company in 2022.

The appointment comes months after Bob van Dijk stepped down as the CEO of Prosus and Naspers on September 18, 2023 after spending a decade with the investment giant. The Netherlands-based company had then made Ervin Tu its interim CEO.

Ervin even visited India, the world's third largest ecosystem, in November last year to meet the teams here, Moneycontrol had reported. He will continue to be with Prosus in his new role as the president and chief investment officer (CIO), the statement added.

“It is an honour to be given the opportunity to lead Prosus and Naspers during a very exciting period of innovation and change within the technology space,” Bloisi said.

iFood has grown into one of the largest and most successful brands in Latin America. This was driven by a passionate team balancing innovation with disciplined investment while acting fast and empowering our great people. “That combination is in my DNA, and I will bring it to my new role as Prosus and Naspers CEO,” he said.

A company like Prosus must play an important role in identifying new technologies, such as AI, that impact the world and specifically emerging markets, he said.

It is still unclear who Ashutosh Sharma, head of investments in India, will report to. Sharma was recently elevated to lead early and growth opportunities in India and adjacent markets, Moneycontrol reported in April.

India is an important market for Prosus and Naspers, which has invested about $7 billion in the country, backing Indian startups like Byju's, Swiggy, Meesho, and PharmEasy.

Prosus’ stake in Indian unicorns

Top deck rejig

Prosus has announced a slew of management changes over the past year or so. In September last year, Dijk stepped down as CEO and gave up his board seats. The move came shortly after Prosus appointed Gautam Thakar, former CEO of OLX Autos, to head its edtech investments as part of an internal restructuring which resulted in a split of the food delivery and edtech divisions into distinct segments.

Thakar is the CEO of edtech for Prosus, while Roger Rabalais, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Food and Chief Operating Officer (COO) business-to-consumer (B2C), became the CEO food delivery.

The roles of Thakar and Rabalais were altered because Larry Illg, who was serving as the CEO of the combined division (food delivery and edtech) since its inception said he was stepping down.