Born on October 31, 1971, Marcos Galperin is one of Argentina’s most prominent entrepreneurs, widely known as the founder and CEO of MercadoLibre.com, Latin America’s largest e-commerce and fintech company.
Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Galperin comes from a well-off family that owns SADESA, one of the largest leather manufacturing companies in the world. He completed his secondary education in 1990 at St. Andrew’s Scots School in Olivos. After high school, he moved to the United States to study Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he met his best friend, José Estenssoro, son of the president of YPF. In 1994, José offered him a job at YPF.
After finishing his undergraduate studies, Galperin returned to his native Argentina. In 1997, he went back to the U.S. to enroll in the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he earned a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in 1999.
His most significant achievement was founding MercadoLibre while still a student at Stanford. He was supported by his professor Jack McDonald, who introduced him to potential investors. During this time, John Muse, a guest speaker and co-founder of Hicks Muse Private Equity Fund, showed interest in Galperin’s idea and offered to invest. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of what would become one of the most influential tech companies in Latin America.