Boston-based online retailer of home furnishings and decor, Wayfair has appointed Romero Rodrigues to it’s board of directors. The Buscapé Company founder has led more than 15 acquisitions and raised four funding rounds from investors including Great Hill Partners, Merrill Lynch and Itaú Unibanco and in 2009, sold 91% of Buscape Company to Naspers for $374 million.
After selling the shopping comparison site to Naspers, Rodrigues was appointed Global Chief Executive Officer for comparison shopping at Naspers where he manages comparison shopping platforms in Brazil, Poland, Italy and South Africa.
According to Niraj Shah, CEO, co-chairman and co-founder of Wayfair, “Romero is an exceptionally talented businessman and a great visionary in the e-commerce world. We are honored to have him join our board and welcome his guidance as we continue to build Wayfair globally as a leading online destination for home goods.”
The B.S in electrical and computer science engineering graduate from the University of Sao Paulo is a member of the Endeavor Brazil Board, a global nonprofit that transforms emerging countries by supporting high-impact entrepreneurs. Rodrigues is expected to help drive the expansion of Wayfair’s family of brands.
“E-commerce is an exciting, fast growing market sector in the world’s economy and Wayfair is poised to be a major player in that growth,” noted Rodrigues. “I am delighted to join Wayfair’s board of directors and look forward to contributing to the company’s continued success.”
South African-based Naspers, now a century old is one of the world’s biggest and oldest e-commerce, classifieds and media giants with invests in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Russia and several other regions. Today, India’s FlipKart, where Naspers is an investor confirmed to have raised $1 billion to fuel its growth. Naspers owns 91% of Buscape. Rodrigues joining the Wayfair board will not affect his position at Naspers.
In March, Wayfair raised $157 million in equity financing to fuel continued growth of the company’s portfolio of home brands. The Series B investment round was led by funds and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., encompassed a limited number of key investors, including industry leading growth focused mutual funds, as well as a private investment from Julie M.B. Bradley, TripAdvisor CFO and Wayfair board member.
