Vinod named new Jumia CEO as Ron Kawamara expected to Join Google Africa

Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Friday announced the appointment of Vinod Goel, as Uganda’s new Chief Executive Officer. 

Vinod takes over the leadership mantle from former CEO, Ron Kawamara, who is leaving to pursue a big-impact opportunity that has presented itself. 

A source told SoftPower News that Kawamara “may be headed to Google Africa where he landed a big executive position”.  

“His successor Vinod will focus on making Jumia sharper and faster to delight more and more customers with their needs. Vinod will also work closely with partners and vendors to make Jumia their most preferred sales channel,” the e-commerce platform said in a statement. 

Who is Vinod? 

Vinod joined Jumia 18 months back as Head of Fulfillment overseeing operations across all Jumia markets. 

He played a pivotal role in making Jumia Express faster, cheaper and double the size in 1.5 years, and also steered the set-up of Dark Stores fulfilment operations. 

Prior to Jumia, Vinod worked in Strategy, Finance and Supply Chain with Lafarge Group, a French conglomerate, and based in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

He has also worked as a software engineer in India earlier in his professional career. Vinod earned a B.S. in Engineering and also holds a dual MBA degree from MDI Gurgaon in India and ESCP Europe in London.