Romanian entrepreneur Iulian Stanciu, the CEO of eMAG - the largest online retailer in Romania, was named the most admired CEO in Romania, in the forth edition of the CEO Awards gala organized by local financial publication Business Magazin.

In the first editions of the gala, it was large multinationals' CEOs who won the awards. In 2010 and 2011 the award went to Mariana Gheorghe, the CEO of Romania's largest company OMV Petrom, part of Austrian OMV group. In 2012 and 2013, Raiffeisen Bank’s Steven van Groningen received the award.

Iulian Stanciu, this year’s winner took over the eMAG’s executive management in 2009, after Asesoft Distribution, the company which at that time was controlled by media mogul Sebastian Ghita and Stanciu himself, bought the majority stake in the online retailer. Then, in 2012, South-African investment fund Naspers took over 70% of eMAG’s shares, but Stanciu remained minority shareholder in the company and continued as CEO, managing to grow eMAG into the largest online retailer on the market.

eMAG plans to reach EUR 280 million in sales this year, 50% more than last year (EUR 187 million), after it moved from being an electronics retailer to selling books, toys, auto parts, auto insurance, home decorations and even food, in a partnership with supermarket chain Mega Image.

Iulian Stanciu also owns the Flanco Retail, electronics retailer, which had a turnover of EUR 137 million in 2013.

The 100 most admired CEO’s in Romania catalog, which is published by Business Magazin, is made based on the votes of the local business community.

editor@romania-insider.com