E-commerce startup iPrice appoints former COO as CEO

IPRICE Group, which operates a product discovery and comparison platform, has appointed its former president and chief operating officer Paul Brown-Kenyon as chief executive officer.

Co-founder and former CEO David Chmelař will assume the role of executive vice-chairman. He will focus on business development and partner relations while working with the company's board and investor group.

Heinrich M Wendel, iPrice's co-founder and chief technology officer, will take an additional title of chief product officer following Mr Brown-Kenyon's CEO appointment.

Mr Brown-Kenyon has more than 20 years of experience in the Asian technology sector, having spent 13 years leading satellite services firm MEASAT Global Berhad (MEASAT Satellite Systems) and six years with the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

He said that iPrice's core value proposition - helping online consumers navigate and find the best online deals - has become even more important today.

"My primary focus will be on helping the organisation scale successfully to meet the rapidly expanding needs of our consumers, merchants and partners all looking to tap into the e-commerce opportunity," Mr Brown-Kenyon said.

"To accomplish this, I'll be overseeing areas such as strategy, operational excellence, corporate governance, performance management, as well as making iPrice an attractive workplace for talents in the region."

iPrice's websites, which serve South-east Asian and Hong Kong consumers, had a 60 per cent increase in traffic within the past two months as consumers turned to online shopping while on lockdown at home during the pandemic.

Tech and media platforms are looking to expand into e-commerce, opening up a multitude of partnership opportunities for iPrice as an e-commerce enabler, the firm said.

iPrice has so far partnered companies such as New Straits Times, IDN Times, VnExpress, Thairath, LINE, Visenze and Home Credit Indonesia, and is exploring other partnerships across the region.

In March, the startup announced a US$10 million Series B fund-raise led by ACA Investments, which brought its total funding so far to US$20 million.