Mercado Libre aims to democratize commerce and money by deploying technology to level the playing field between large companies, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. He believes that entrepreneurs and their endeavors are the main agents of change in society. He is a passionate entrepreneur, a inspiration in the business world, and an innovative leader focused on empowering young people and generating positive long-term impact. 

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marcos graduated with honors from the Wharton School of Business. Subsequently, he received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he also conceived of the idea for Mercado Libre. After he secured initial funding for the business through the Hicks Muse private equity fund in 1999, he went on to secure additional funding from JPMorgan Partners, Goldman Sachs, and GE Capital, among others. Today, Marcos is considered one of Argentina’s top tech entrepreneurs.

Marcos embodies entrepreneurial values and bets on entrepreneurial talent both in his company and through the organizations and projects he supports. As a member of the National Board of Endeavour Argentina, Marcos is directly involved in efforts to promote entrepreneurial culture to foster development of the country. 

Under Marcos’s leadership, Mercado Libre seeks to foster entrepreneurship through two major initiatives. The first encourages financial literacy and inclusion by providing credit to underbanked or unbanked micro, small, and medium sized enterprises. In the second, Mercado Libre supports entrepreneurs whose projects contribute to environmental, social, and economic goals, which the company calls “triple impact entrepreneurs.” 

Education and work readiness are key pillars on Marcos’s agenda. Through his company, he supports programs such as Certified Tech Developer and Networks for the Future. Launched in partnership with Globant, Certified Tech Developer is a regional training program designed to prepare 10,000 young Latin Americans to work in the tech industry. Networks to the Future aims to develop new technical and socio-emotional skills in young people to accelerate employment in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. 

Climate action is a key part of Marcos’s agenda. Mercado Libre’s permanent sustainable products section provides a sales channel to entrepreneurs that generate positive impact. Marcos also strives to operate his business with the lowest possible environmental impact, following the measurement guidelines of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), designing workplaces according to energy-efficiency criteria, placing offices in LEED-certified buildings. 

As part of Mercado Libre’s commitment to align funding needs with sustainability practices, it has financed green and social projects through the sustainable capital markets and created the Sustainability Bond Framework, which allows the company to allocate net proceeds from issuing debt securities to projects that demonstrate environmental or societal benefits.