Naspers senior e-commerce chief Bob van Dijk has been appointed the group's new chief executive officer, the mass media giant said on Saturday.
Van Dijk would succeed current CEO Koos Bekker, Naspers said in a statement.
He will take up his new position on April 1.
"In view of our strong development focus on e-commerce, the board believes that Bob has the skills to lead us into the next phase of our growth," Naspers chairman Ton Vosloo said.
Bekker would stand down from the Naspers board for a year, to allow Van Dijk the space to settle in with Naspers top management and the board.
Time for travel
Naspers said Bekker would travel and research where the group's next spurt of growth would come from, once e-commerce had reached maturity.
Vosloo would step down as chairman of Naspers in April 2015 and Bekker would succeed him.
Bekker expressed gratitude to his colleagues and board members at Naspers.
"It's been fun. I couldn't have wished for a more interesting life," he said.
"Now I hope to travel to places like Seoul and San Francisco where the future is being manufactured, and see if there are new technologies we should be trying out.
"When Ton steps down, I'll rejoin the board, hopefully with fresh ideas," said Bekker.
Van Dijk said he was honoured to lead the Naspers team. –Sapa