BRAVO Symposium 2025: Mercado Libre's 25 Years of Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact
BRAVO Symposium 2025: Mercado Libre's 25 Years of Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact
AS/COA's Susan Segal sat down with Ariel Szarfsztejn, the incoming CEO of Latin America's largest multinational, to talk through the company's rise.
Speakers:
- Julio Figueroa, Head of Latin America, Citi (introduction)
- Ariel Szarfsztejn, Commerce President & Incoming CEO, Mercado Libre
- Susan Segal, President & CEO, AS/COA (moderator)
"What sets Mercado Libre apart is that there has been no government intervention or anything along the 25-year journey. This is a truly independent, private-sector, innovative company," declared Susan Segal as she opened a leadership conversation with Ariel Szarfsztejn, the incoming CEO of Mercado Libre, the Argentina-founded, Uruguay-headquartered mega-multinational. During the talk at the 2025 Council of the Americas Symposium, Szarfsztejn outlined not just the company's rise, but also his own journey to leadership.
When Szarfsztejn joined Mercado Libre, he said, it "was a bits and bytes company. We had no digital wallet or fintech or banking services platform." That was his opportunity to lead the transformation of the company's logistics network, which now boasts hundreds of warehouses and distribution centers across Latin America. "I think we get energized by competition," he said, noting the abundance of local and U.S. companies in the e-commerce space, as well as growing Chinese investment.
Central to keeping up with the competition is the incorporation of AI applications into everyday operations. Szarfsztejn mentioned that AI tools are already helping Mercado Libre boost efficiency and productivity, assist with coding, and improve user experience on the website and apps.
On the issue of growth potential, Szarfsztejn emphasized the need for Mercado Libre to be the protagonist of increasing digital and financial inclusion in Latin America. Here, Segal pointed out that company has made progress on this front. "You have disrupted traditional banking," she said, adding, "You're lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises that no one would lend to before."
Szarfsztejn summarized the company's ambitious ethos. "I've always said we would not be the Mercado Libre that we are today if it were not because of Amazon coming into Mexico back in 2015. I think that pushed us to continue innovating. It got our competitive spirit from the inside, and forced us to deploy the best of each of us and to invest behind the right things. And that's still the case today," he said.
