Polish e-commerce giant Allegro has announced that Marcin Kuśmierz will take over as its new chief executive officer, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the technology sector to the role.

Kuśmierz will formally assume leadership of Allegro's Polish unit on 5 May 2025 and will become chief executive officer of Allegro.eu at the company's annual general meeting in June. He succeeds Roy Perticucci, who will transition to the role of special advisor to the Allegro Group.

Gary McGann, Allegro's chairman of the board, welcomed the appointment: "The selection of Marcin Kuśmierz signals a new chapter, bringing together proven entrepreneurial leadership with operational excellence at scale and a challenger mindset."

The leadership change follows a comprehensive succession process that was first announced in October 2024. According to the company, the transition will enable a "smooth and structured handover of responsibilities."

Kuśmierz joins Allegro from Shoper, where as chief executive officer he led the platform to a successful debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and achieved what Allegro describes as "the highest growth of any e-commerce platform in Central and Eastern Europe between 2021 and 2024." Earlier this year, Shoper was sold to technology holding company Cyber_folks for over PLN 1 billion.

"It is a great privilege to embark on this journey as chief executive officer of Allegro. It's a true Polish technology champion, and I'm honoured and excited to join the team," said Kuśmierz. "My ambition is for Allegro to become the chosen e-commerce platform for many more consumers and merchants."

The incoming chief executive faces challenges including the continued turnaround of Mall Group, which Allegro acquired in 2022 to expand into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, as well as competition from domestic and international rivals including Temu.

Allegro reported strong financial results for 2024, with gross merchandise value growing by 9.6 per cent year-on-year and consolidated adjusted EBITDA rising by 17.9 per cent. The number of active shoppers across its markets reached 21 million, including 6 million outside Poland.

Founded in Poland 25 years ago, Allegro has established itself as the largest online marketplace of European origin following its record-breaking IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company claims to generate around 1 per cent of Poland's gross domestic product and employs approximately 1 per cent of the country's total workforce.

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