Meet the Man Who Wants to Run Latin America’s Most Valuable Company Like a Startup

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Founded in Argentina and now headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay, MercadoLibre employs over 100,000 people, from just 15,000 in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic drove consumer uptake of e-commerce and digital payment apps. In 2025 alone the company pledged to invest at least $13.2 billion across the region and its various divisions.

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Swift Rise

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In contrast to Galperin and the clutch of executives who launched MercadoLibre and remain in C-suite roles, Szarfsztejn wasn’t present at the creation. After a few years at Boston Consulting Group, he had been running the hotels unit at digital travel company Despegar.com Corp. when then-CFO Pedro Arnt pitched a strategy role. At first, it seemed like a step backward. 

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“‘You have been working together for 20 years, what can I contribute by telling you how and what needs to be done? I can’t sit at that table,’” he recalled telling Arnt at the time in a podcast. “I knew the caliber of the people. But I wasn’t convinced by the role.”

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But after nearly a dozen coffee meetings, he was drawn to the company’s ethos that values ideas over titles or tenure. Szarfsztejn signed on in 2017 as head of strategy and “by day two” felt confident he had made the right decision. 

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The move kicked off a swift rise through the corporate ranks. Within a year, he was tasked with leading the shipping division, spearheading a logistics push that led to million-dollar investments, from high-tech warehouses and distribution centers to planes and electric vehicle fleets to expedite shipping. 

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During his tenure at the helm of logistics, the team exploded from 60 people to 70,000. In 2021, Galperin asked co-founder Stelleo Tolda to step aside from the top job at the e-commerce division to test out Szarfsztejn, eyeing the newcomer’s potential.

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MercadoLibre is tested by competitors on all sides.

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In e-commerce, Amazon.com Inc. has carved out a presence in Brazil and Mexico, MercadoLibre’s two biggest markets.  From further afield, Chinese e-commerce platforms like Temu are flooding the region with ultra-cheap goods, upending price expectations and prompting governments from Mexico to Chile to levy new import taxes.  “The threat is there unless government interventions with tariffs level the playing field,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Poonam Goyal.

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Szarfsztejn said the company adapts to new regulations with agility, and even with the new levies, sales remain buoyant in key markets like Mexico. He maintains there’s room for exponential growth. “There’s space for e-commerce to double or triple in not-so-many years, it’s up to us to execute it,” he said.

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A self-described introvert, Szarfsztejn studied economics at Universidad de Buenos Aires and later did an MBA at Stanford University, like Galperin. He lives in Buenos Aires with his wife and two daughters and enjoys reading sports biographies. He’s a fan of Rafael Nadal. 

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Investors have taken the leadership transition in stride so far, with shares steady at around $2,300 apiece since the May announcement. After the company posted annual revenue of about $21 billion last year, analysts say it’s the right time for a change at the top.

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“The market is happy with the timing because it is coming from a position of strength and not weakness,” said HSBC’s Agarwala. “It’s comforting to have someone who is plugged into the commerce business and understands how to make money out of fintech.”