Manfred Mayer

Expert in e-commerce, brand management, marketplace, M&A, and startup growth

Manfred has over 15 years of top management experience across multiple countries and companies. As CEO and Co-Founder of Opontia, he built a leading e-commerce aggregator in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Poland, acquiring 10 brands and growing a $15 million portfolio. He established sourcing, marketing, brand management, operations, finance, and tech departments from scratch, raised $42 million from international and local investors, and hired and led a team of over 100 professionals. He successfully exited the business after 4 years by leading the M&A without an advisor.

Previously, as CEO and Co-Founder of Next Commerce, an end-to-end e-commerce enabler, Manfred helped brands onboard and grow online in the UAE and KSA by managing their brand management, data analytics, digital marketing, and customer service. At Digikala, Iran’s largest e-commerce company with $600 million in revenue, he managed the retail and marketplace departments, delivering over 50% growth as Chief Commercial Officer.

At Lazada, Southeast Asia’s biggest e-commerce platform, Manfred served as Chief Marketplace Officer. In charge of the marketplace strategy, he expanded the seller base from 3,000 to 15,000, increased the product range from 500,000 to 2.3 million, and developed an automated seller management system. During his tenure, Alibaba acquired Lazada with an initial $1 billion investment.