eBay India's country manager Muralikrishnan B quits, Latif Nathani to take over

Online auction and shopping marketplace eBay India has named Latif Nathani as managing director. Nathani will take over from country manager Muralikrishnan B by the end of the quarter.

Muralikrishnan will explore entrepreneurial opportunities outside eBay, according to the company's statement. He joined eBay in 2005 and took over as country manager in 2011. Interestingly, Muralikrishnan had taken over the reins of eBay India from Ambareesh Murthy, who had quit to set up lifestyle e-com venture Pepperfry.com.

In April, Techcircle.in first reported that eBay is looking for a new country head in India.

Nathani has about 22 years of experience, including a 15-year stint at Microsoft and Symantec. In his last assignment, he served as CEO of product strategy consulting firm, MrLMN.com. He also led a consumer incubator for Microsoft India (including equity investments in mobile payments), headed Global Product Marketing for Symantec's Norton business and was cofounder of eMemories.com.

"India will be a mobile first market with the vast majority of Indian consumers having their first online transaction on a smartphone or tablet. Mr Nathani's deep experience in mobile, combined with his solid professional track record in India and the US, makes him an ideal candidate to lead eBay's Indian business through the exciting changes ahead," said Jay Lee, senior vice president and managing director Asia Pacific, eBay.

This comes soon after eBay appointed Alok Agarwal as director-marketing in India. Agarwal joined eBay from Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd, where he was the category head for motorcycles.