Daraz Group gets new CEO in latest shuffle

South Asia’s leading e-commerce marketplace Daraz Group has appointed James Dong as acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after the founding CEO Bjarke Mikkelsen stepped down on Wednesday. 

The appointment of the new acting Chief Executive Officer will be effected from January 24, 2024.

According to a notice by Daraz, "the board of directors has appointed James Dong, CEO of Lazada Group, to succeed Bjarke Mikkelsen as acting CEO of the company in addition to James’s existing responsibilities."

Bjarke has been instrumental in the development and growth of Daraz Group for nearly a decade. As the founder, he led the business from its infancy as a single-market online retailer to a comprehensive marketplace serving five South Asian markets, making e-commerce affordable with a cost-efficient logistics infrastructure and payment solutions.

"The board would like to express its deepest appreciation to Bjarke for his contributions to Daraz Group and respects his decision to step down for personal reasons. Bjarke will always be a member of the Daraz family," read the notice.

James Dong was named CEO of Lazada Group, sister company of Daraz, in June 2022. He joined Lazada in June 2018 as the CEO of Lazada Thailand and Vietnam, where he also led the launch of a new social commerce platform Youpik.

“My North Star has always been to build Daraz into a business that is strong enough to survive in our markets for the long term. This is the reason I’m now handing over the keys to the next generation of leaders in the company and James Dong, who will take over as acting CEO and work on a deeper integration between Daraz and our sister companies. With this structure, we will have a more focused strategy and efficient business model – I’m very confident that this is the best structure for Daraz to ensure our long-term success,” said Bjarke Mikkelsen, outgoing CEO of Daraz Group. “I will now take some time to focus on my family and support my wonderful wife in her new career.”

Daraz Group was founded in 2015 and acquired by Alibaba from Rocket Internet in 2018. The company, which operates in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal has followed its long-term business plan and achieved impressive growth in its orders, revenues, and market share. 

The company’s active shoppers have risen from 3 million in 2018 to more than 15 million in 2023, with an average order growth of almost 100% until last year.