Technology entrepreneur Willem van Biljon has joined South Africa’s online retailer takealot.com as co-chief executive officer and chief technology officer, it was announced.

Van Biljon co-founded Mosaic Software, the creators of the Postilion payment system, and was one of the leaders that built Amazon’s EC2 cloud service and Nimbula.

Commenting on van Biljon’s appointment, co-CEO Kim Reid said, “We are thrilled to have someone of Willem’s stature, a takealot.com board member since August 2011, join us in an executive capacity in our Cape Town head office. He has a world-class technical background paired with serious business acumen making him ideal to join our team and contribute to taking takealot.com from a challenger brand to SA market leader in online retail.”   

"Having been on the board and watching how the business has accelerated over the last two and half years, has given me the inside track on the future potential of takealot.com. When Kim approached me to join in an executive capacity, it was a no brainer. takealot.com has the energy of a start-up, but with all the fundamentals in place to take the lead in e-commerce on the African continent," said van Biljon.

He added, "I am looking forward to mentoring and growing our talent, as well as applying myself to the technical systems and business processes, as we build a world-class e-commerce company."  

Takealot.com recently announced an investment of $100million led by Tiger Global Management for continued expansion in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.