Gautam Thakar appointed Global CEO of OLX Autos

New Delhi, Feb 22 Prosus-owned OLX Group on Monday said it has appointed former Star Sports President and CEO Gautam Thakar as Global CEO of its pre-owned car marketplace OLX Autos effective March 15 of this year.

Thakar will lead a worldwide organisation with a workforce of more than 4,000 employees across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the US.

OLX Autos runs online digital trading platforms in addition to more than 500 inspection centres across the Americas, Asia and Africa, each year inspecting 300,000 vehicles and enabling 130,000 vehicle transactions.

"I'm extremely pleased to welcome Gautam as Global CEO of OLX Autos," Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO, OLX Group, said in a statement.

"He brings a unique set of capabilities to this exciting opportunity including an exceptional general management track record, strong customer orientation, deep marketplace experience, and a rich experience leading and inspiring teams on a global footprint."

Most recently, Thakar was CEO of Star Sports in India which was acquired by the Walt Disney Company.

Prior to that Thakar was in the US for over a decade and brings leadership experience in digital marketplaces as former global CEO of Shopping.com and LivingSocial acquired by Groupon.

Thakar was a part of the founding management team of baazee.com which pioneered e-commerce in India before being acquired by eBay in 2005.

"I am delighted with the opportunity and responsibility to lead the impressive global OLX Autos team. I've long watched the bold and ambitious approach taken by Naspers and Prosus as they've built great companies in so many exciting markets, including India," Thakar said on his appointment.

"OLX Group's commitment to this business is unparalleled and I am inspired to join the team to build the world's most trusted platform for buying and selling cars."

He will remain based in India in his new global role.