Former Borderfree executives Michael DeSimone and Kris Green have taken on leadership roles at iguama, a Latin American online cross-border mall featuring popular U.S. brands and products.
DeSimone, the former President and CEO of Borderfree, has joined the Board of Directors of iguama and Green, Borderfree’s former Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Sales, has joined the Advisory Board to guide the start-up’s business and operations teams.
“Michael DeSimone and Kris Green have been a prominent force in the cross-border industry, inventing new ways to help top U.S. retailers successfully expand in the global marketplace. We are very pleased they have decided to take on this leadership role at iguama. Their experience, knowledge and resources will be invaluable in directing our business plan,” said Diego Fernandez, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of iguama, in a press release.
Founded in 2014, iguama is a cross-border shopping club offering top brands to Latinos from U.S. retailers not traditionally present in Latin America. Using end-to-end technology tools, iguama manages the entire store-to-customer transaction process, allowing U.S. brands to sell products internationally with ease.
For more than eight years, DeSimone led Borderfree from a struggling startup to a global enterprise that IPO’d on NASDAQ. Borderfree was acquired by Pitney Bowes in May 2015 for $395 million.
During DeSimone’s tenure at Borderfree, the company was ranked No. 17 on Crain’s New York Business Fast 50 List and No. 86 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list.
“I am honored and pleased to be working with team iguama,” said DeSimone in a press release. “The global ecommerce sector, particularly in Latin America, is on the verge of major expansion. Retailers have been longing for a partner they can trust to not just smooth over Latin American ecommerce transactions, but to also drive significant consumer demand and awareness. That’s the combination that team iguama will be the first to truly deliver.”
Green joined Borderfree in 2007 and alongside DeSimone, helped build the world’s leading cross-border ecommerce platform product. Green has more than 15 years experience building, selling, and marketing technology solutions that facilitate cross-border trade and in eight years at Borderfree, helped recruit and power global ecommerce for more than 200 iconic and coveted brands and retailers in the U.S. and United Kingdom. He is a recognized authority on international ecommerce best practices and successfully globalizing ecommerce businesses.
“Latin America has been a region that U.S. retailers have struggled to succeed in from a distance. Iguama has finally given the Latin American consumer the hyperlocalized shopping experience they want and made it effortless for U.S. retailers of all sizes to be a part of it”, said Green in a press release.