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Rakuten Americas names new CEO and COO

Patel and Coulson to foster collaboration among e-commerce giant's business units, including 3PL Rakuten Super Logistics, firm says.

DC Velocity Staff
By DC Velocity StaffJul 18, 2019
DC Velocity Staff
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Japanese e-commerce marketplace Rakuten Inc. has tapped two executives to lead its Rakuten Americas division, in a move the company says will "foster greater collaboration among business units."

San Mateo, Calif.-based Rakuten Americas' 10 divisions include Rakuten Super Logistics (RSL), the third party logistics provider (3PL) that acts as an order fulfillment arm both for its corporate parent Rakuten.com and for other e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Amazon, Magento, Walmart Marketplace, and eBay.

Las Vegas-based RSL has been expanding its reach through new investments in recent months, acquiring two Salt Lake City-based e-commerce solution providers in March and deploying 100 picking robots from warehouse automation startup inVia Robotics Inc. at a fulfillment center in April.

Rakuten Americas will now be led by Amit Patel as chief executive officer and Adrienne Down Coulson as chief operating officer, the company said today.Both executives will also continue in their current roles with the company, where they hold the same titles at Rakuten Rewards, the firm's shopping loyalty program that was formerly known as Ebates.

In addition to RSL and Rakuten Rewards, the Rakuten Americas division includes eight other units: Rakuten Marketing, Rakuten Intelligence, Rakuten Kobo, Rakuten Ready, Rakuten Viki, Rakuten Marketplace, Rakuten Brazil, and Rakuten OverDrive.

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