Mercari, Inc. (“Mercari”) announces that current Vice President, General Manager (Cross Border) Shunsuke Sako will become CEO Marketplace, effective March 1, 2025. He replaces current Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace) Masato Yamamoto, who serves concurrently as Executive Officer, Senior Vice President of Japan Region (hereafter Head of Mercari Group’s Japan businesses).
| Name | New Title | Old Title |
| Masato Yamamoto | Executive Officer, Senior Vice President of Japan Region / Director of Merpay, Inc. / Director of Mercoin, Inc. | Executive Officer, Senior Vice President of Japan Region / Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace) / Director of Merpay, Inc. / Director of Mercoin, Inc. |
| Shunsuke Sako | Vice President, CEO Marketplace | Vice President, General Manager (Cross Border) |
Yamamoto, who has thus far served concurrently as head of Mercari Group’s Japan businesses and Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace) will focus on his role as head of Mercari Group’s Japan businesses to further strengthen the creation of Group synergy between each of the businesses deployed in Japan.
Sako joined Mercari, Inc. in 2021 as Vice President and was then appointed Vice President (Cross Border) in June 2023, at which time he managed the company’s crossborder business and drove the Group’s growth with such efforts as the launch of Mercari’s services in Taiwan. As Vice President and CEO Marketplace, he will aim to “create value in a global marketplace where anyone can buy & sell,” and drive the growth of Marketplace’s business.
Profile
Masato Yamamoto
Yamamoto completed his master’s in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo in 2004. After working at NTT Docomo, he began working as the Head of Partner Sales in the Enterprise Division at Google Japan in 2008. In 2014, he became the Head of Business Development and Sales at Square Japan, and in 2016, he became the Head of Apple Pay Merchant Business at Apple Japan. He joined Merpay as Chief Business Officer in April 2018, where he oversaw general business operations, such as credit design and merchant development. He was appointed Representative Director, Chief Executive Officer of Merpay in January 2022; Vice President, Chief Executive Officer (Fintech) in July 2022; and Mercari Vice President, Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace) in November 2023. In January 2024, he assumed the positions of Mercari Executive Officer, Senior Vice President of Japan Region, and Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace).
Shunsuke Sako
After graduating from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), Sako joined Mitsubishi Corporation in 2008. Following this, he joined MOTHERHOUSE Co., Ltd., where he was involved in launching business and establishing branches of the company overseas. In April 2014, he was appointed Representative Director & CEO of Minit Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. and oversaw Mister Minit businesses launched in six APAC regions. After serving as a Management Advisor for Unison Capital, Inc., he entered Mercari as a Vice President in November 2021 and was appointed Vice President of Crossborder in June 2023. He assumed the position of General Manager (Cross Border) in July 2024.
Under this new management structure, Mercari Group will continue to strive to achieve its mission: “Circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people.”