Riccardo Basile is CEO and co-founder of AGORA, a social commerce platform that aims to disrupt the beauty industry.

Prior to this, he spent six years in South-East Asia where he co-founded the Lazada Group, the leading commerce in the region, acquired by the Alibaba Group in 2016. At Lazada, Riccardo had several leadership roles, namely Chief Mobile Officer (in charge of the development of the Group’s consumer platforms), Chief Commercial Officer (in charge of category management, brand/ merchant relations and retail business) and Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Thailand (the largest country by revenue).

Riccardo started his career in Isagro, a publicly listed agrochemical company. Following his MBA, Riccardo worked in Uganda for Technoserve, a pro-bono consulting firm. Subsequently, he joined McKinsey & Company (Milan and London offices). During his four years at the firm, Riccardo worked largely with leading Financial Institutions, as well as with Private Equity clients.

 Riccardo holds a Bachelor Degree of Economics from Bocconi University and an MBA Degree from the NYU-Stern School of Business in New York City.