Shein appoints Marcelo Claure as new Latin America head, inks $100 million investment

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Feb 1, 2023

Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein announced on Tuesday the appointment of Marcelo Claure as chairman of Shein Latin America.

In this new role, Claure will oversee the Asian company's Latin American strategy and stakeholder affairs in Latin America, working closely with Shein's management team.

Claure will also lead the formation of an advisory board for Shein in the region, to help provide local expertise and serve as the chairman. He will also invest $100 million in Shein.

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A corporate veteran, ​Claure is the founder and CEO of Claure Group, a multi-billion-dollar global investment firm focused on multiple high growth sectors in Latin America including tech, telecom, media, real estate and sports.

He started his first business, Brightstar, in 1997, growing it to become the world's largest global wireless distribution and services company and the largest Hispanic business in U.S. history with revenues exceeding $10 billion.

​Claure sold Brightstar to SoftBank in 2014, and became the CEO of Sprint, where he led the $195 billion merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, which closed in 2020. Following the merger, Claure was promoted to CEO of SoftBank Group International, where he had direct oversight of over 40 companies in SoftBank's portfolio, including ARM, SB Energy and WeWork. He also launched the $8 billion SoftBank Latin America fund in 2019, the largest VC fund in the region.

​Claure's appointment comes after Shein's decision to home in on Latin America. As part of his strategy, Claure will make meaningful investments into a select group of companies and founders that are based in Latin America, as well as global companies that are looking to grow and expand into Latin America, according to a press release.

"We are thrilled to welcome Marcelo to Shein during an exciting time of growth for our company in Latin America," said Sky Xu, CEO of Shein. "His excellent track record as an entrepreneur and operational executive, combined with his deep experience growing global brands and building trusted relationships, will be instrumental as we expand in this important market."