Sam Yagan Appointed CEO Of Alibaba-Backed Amazon Prime Rival ShopRunner
OkCupid co-founder Sam Yagan has got a new CEO role.
Yagan has been appointed CEO of members-only online shopping service ShopRunner.
ShopRunner is an Amazon Prime competitor that guarantees members unlimited free 2-day shipping and free returns for hundreds of stores, including Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Staples & Toys ‘R Us.
Whereas Amazon Prime, which has around 50m members, charges users $99, ShopRunner charges its 3m members $80.
The company was founded in 2010, and has been led by former Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson since July 2012.
In 2013, Alibaba led a $206m investment in the company, and the Pennsylvania-based business has also received investment from American Express.
And the former Match Group CEO, who led the dating company into last year’s IPO, will be tasked with accelerating the growth of ShopRunner’s 3m customers, as well as bringing more value to its 150 merchant partners.
Speaking about his new role, Yagan said: “I have tremendous passion for building consumer brands that offer valuable services to their members; there’s no doubt that consumers love our current offering of free two-day shipping at their favorite e-commerce retailers.
“ShopRunner’s unique two-sided network is well-positioned to offer unparalleled value to both our merchant partners and our members. Scott and the entire ShopRunner team have worked magic in building the base of this business, and I’m excited to lead its next phase of growth.”
One of the dating industry’s most high profile leaders, Yagan will retain his place on the Match Group board and serve as Vice-Chairman of Match Group.
Speaking about the appointment, the CEO of ShopRunner’s parent company Kynetic, Michael Rubin, said: “Bringing in Sam’s expertise in building consumer brands, driving customer acquisition, and leveraging unique data assets will accelerate ShopRunner’s existing momentum.
“Under Sam’s leadership, we will have our eyes set on pushing gross merchandise sales on the ShopRunner network well into the billions.”
ShopRunner has around 65 employees and is based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, with another office in San Mateo, California.
Find out more about ShopRunner here.
