Our Leadership
Meet the people who guide the success of our international businesses
Amit Patel is an Internet veteran with more than 20 years of experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. As Chief Executive Officer of Rakuten International and its subsidiary Rakuten Rewards, he is responsible for developing, implementing, and integrating business strategies that will lead Rakuten Americas’ next phase of growth and cement its status as the world’s largest membership program.
Amit has held executive positions at Rakuten Rewards (formerly Ebates) since 2010 and was appointed its chief executive officer in 2017. Under his leadership the company completed several acquisitions, rebranded from Ebates to Rakuten, and became the industry-leading rewards program for connecting leading retailers with millions of consumers across the world.
Amit earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computing and Management from Loughborough University of Technology in the UK.
Adrienne Down Coulson is Chief Operating Officer for Rakuten International and is responsible for the operational and corporate functions supporting Rakuten’s businesses headquartered in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Her purview includes Finance, Legal, HR, IT & Security, Communications, Internal Audit, Compliance, Facilities and Strategic Business Operations. Her teams provide support for 7 business units and thousands of employees. Adrienne’s people‑first approach focuses on building scalable organizational structures and optimizing operations for growth.
Adrienne joined Rakuten Rewards (then Ebates) in 2012 to launch its Canadian business, achieving profitability and market leadership within three years. During her tenure at Rakuten Rewards, she built her career to become COO. Previously, Adrienne held President/GM roles at Toronto‑based digital agencies and technology start‑ups and was Vice President, Operations at MacLaren MRM (now MRM McCann).
Adrienne founded Women@Rakuten and chairs Rakuten’s Executive Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee. She is a board member of the Golden State Warriors Community Foundation, as well as a member of the Valkryies Impact Council, The C100, and The Collective at Penny Jar Capital.
Originally from Ontario, Canada, Adrienne is a graduate of Queen’s University. She currently lives in San Mateo, California.
Cédric Dufour has worked in the retail and digital industry for more than 20 years. In his tenure with Rakuten, he has filled various leading positions in EMEA, including COO of Rakuten France and Managing Director of Open E-Commerce Europe and currently serves as CEO of Rakuten TV and President of Rakuten France.
As a core member of Rakuten Europe’s management team, he played a vital role in establishing Rakuten’s shopping and membership platforms across Europe. Before working at Rakuten, he filled various General Manager and VP Finance positions at a range of dynamic international companies, including FNAC in Spain, Roche Bobois and KPMG in France. Cédric holds a degree from NEOMA business school.
Ofir is a Viber veteran as he first joined the company in 2014 as the Vice President of Product before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2019. In his previous roles at Viber, Ofir focused on user experience, customer success, content, and localization.
As CEO, Ofir Eyal leads Rakuten Viber's ambitious campaign of product development and discovers new markets and business opportunities as the company further establishes itself as a major, innovative player in the global messaging market.
Nick is responsible for Rakuten Advertising’s day-to-day operations and provides strategic guidance to ensure the company is accelerating its speed of innovation and corporate growth. An experienced operator and corporate strategist, Nick is focused on leveraging proprietary data, advanced data science, and real-time technology to drive growth for brands and create new opportunities across Rakuten Group. Before joining Rakuten, Nick was a consummate entrepreneur, founding companies in the mobile analytics and fintech industries, and consulting CPG and retail brands.
Notably, Nick was the Senior Vice President at The Nielsen Company (NLSN), where he led the launch of Nielsen’s mobile business outside of North America. Nick came to Nielsen by way of the firm’s 2007 acquisition of mobile analytics firm Telephia, where, as a founding team member, Nick was involved in the development and management of the company’s strategy, products, marketing and commercial efforts, and corporate development activities.
Prior to Telephia, Nick spent eight years in consulting at Swander, Pace & Company and Braxton Associates, primarily working with consumer packaged goods manufacturer and retailer clients. Over the course of his consulting career, Nick developed broad engagement experience in new product development, competitive assessment and benchmarking, channel and sales force management, and mergers & acquisitions.
Michael Tamblyn combines a passion for books and reading with a deep focus on hardware and software experiences that can make reading lives better. In addition to leading Rakuten Kobo, the global digital bookseller, he is a Senior Executive Officer of Rakuten, the Japanese ecommerce giant.
In his spare time, he advises start-ups focused on aging and technology as volunteer Chief Entrepreneur of Age-Well NCE, and is on the board of directors of the Law Commission of Ontario, Ontario’s law reform body. Michael has been a part of Rakuten Kobo’s executive team since its founding in 2009. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.
Sam Wu leads the strategy and growth of Rakuten Viki's global brand and services as Chief Executive Officer.
Sam Wu has more than a decade of building and leading high-growth media and technology businesses in Silicon Valley. Wu joined Viki in 2012 and has played an integral role in its acquisition by Rakuten in 2013. He has held leadership roles across the company in growth, revenue, strategy, and business development. Since becoming Chief Executive Officer of Rakuten Viki in 2018, he is responsible for developing, implementing, and integrating business strategies to grow Viki as the leading Asian streaming content service. During his tenure as CEO, Wu increased the company’s revenue by nearly 30% YoY and subscriber base by 38% YoY. Prior to Viki, Wu held operations and finance roles at Yahoo! and YuMe. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
