“In view of our strong development focus on ecommerce, the board believes that Bob has the skills to lead us into the next phase of our growth,” said Ton Vosloo, Naspers chair.
Bekker will stand down from the Naspers board for a year, during which time he “intends to travel widely and research where the group’s next spurt of growth may come from, once ecommerce has reached maturity.” Bekker will also stay on the Tencent board. In April 2015, Ton Vosloo intends to step down as chair, when Bekker will succeed him.
Bob van Dijk (aged 41) holds an MSc Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, plus an MBA from Insead. His experience includes heading eBay Germany. He lives in the Netherlands with his wife Tina, a senior finance executive, and two young daughters. He is described as a keen sportsman and speaks five languages. “Naspers is a great company and I’m honoured to lead an excellent team,” said van Dijk.