Former Airbnb executive to head up Naspers classifieds business, OLX Group

Prosus, the international internet assets division of Naspers, has appointed Romain Voog as chief executive officer of classifieds business, OLX Group.

Serving 300 million monthly users in more than 30 countries across five continents, OLX Group is a global classifieds business operating more than 20 consumer brands built by a global workforce of 10,000.

Voog joins OLX Group from Airbnb, where he was vice president for Worldwide Sales Operations and Geographies. His deep global consumer internet experience is bolstered by previous leadership roles including CEO for Global Fashion Group, and president of Amazon France, Prosus said.

He started his career in consulting at Bain and then BCG, and holds an MSc from Ecole Centrale Paris.

Voog takes over from Martin Scheepbouwer, who is retiring from corporate life. Over the past nine years, Scheepbouwer led the transformation of Prosus’s classifieds portfolio from a set of early stage, autonomous investments, into OLX Group, an operating company with revenues of $1.5 billion and a portfolio of profitable and growth-oriented classifieds brands across the world.

OLX Group’s strategic focus has evolved to three core areas:

• Building multi-vertical ecosystems (goods, cars, real estate, jobs, services) in key markets including Russia, Europe, and Brazil;

• Reinventing the way cars are bought and sold, combining online and offline services to bring convenience and trust to car trade in India, Indonesia, Latin America and the United States. OLX Autos operates over 500 offline inspection centres that inspect 300,000 vehicles and enable 130,000 transactions a year, offering customers a one-stop-shop and peace of mind; and

• Operational investments into strategically attractive classifieds markets – e.g. goods and cars in Turkey (letgo), real estate in South Africa (Property24), goods in the United States (Offerup), property in the Middle East (EMPG), and several others.

Bob van Dijk, CEO, Prosus, said: “I’m delighted that Romain joins us today to lead the next chapter for OLX Group. His rich internet experience combined with his customer-first focus is the perfect combination as we continue to transform the classifieds category for buyers and sellers across the world.

“Martin and the team have built OLX Group into a vibrant and valuable business, serving more than 300 million users every month. I’d like to thank Martin for his superb contribution to the group over the past nine years and for handing over a global business in great shape for the future.”

Voog has lived and worked in Singapore, San Francisco, Australia and France, and will relocate to Amsterdam later in 2021.

Read: Naspers-owned Prosus to purchase $5 billion in Naspers and Prosus shares