Rajen Ruparell

Rajen Ruparell is a Canadian entrepreneur best known for co-founding Citydeal (Groupon International), an online discount deal company purchased by Groupon in 2010. In 2015, it was announced that he would step down from his day-to-day position leading global partnerships at Groupon to pursue new entrepreneurial ventures and would remain an advisor to Groupon. Ruparell is an active growth investor and advisor in ventures across North America and Europe.

Ruparell is a native of Calgary, Alberta and attended the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School. He pursued his undergraduate at the University of Toronto and holds an MSc from the Imperial College Business School in London. Prior to founding Citydeal, Ruparell worked in his family business of auto dealerships and real estate, and had a brief career in venture capital at Oxford Capital Partners, before leaving to pursue his own internet ventures. Ruparell serves on the Board of Trustees for the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and on the Executive Advisory Boards of the Techweek and the Canada-US Business Council.

Citydeal, also referred to as Groupon International, was a European-based deal company co-founded by Ruparell in the United Kingdom and Groupon’s entry into Europe. It was a startup funded by the Samwer brothers, Rocket Internet, and Holtzbrinck Ventures. The company was acquired by Groupon in 2010, just five months after its launch. Although no confirmed figures were released of the deal, it was reported that the sale of Citydeal was between $100M USD and $300M USD. At the time of acquisition, Citydeal employed 600 people and had presence in 80 cities in 16 countries.

Ruparell joined Groupon in 2010 at the time of the acquisition of his company, Citydeal. He served as Executive Director and Managing Director of Groupon UK. In 2011, ahead of Groupon’s IPO, Ruparell and his co-founders moved to the Chicago headquarters to spearhead growth in Groupon’s North American business.

Ruparell was charged with founding Groupon Goods, which diversifies from their core local business Groupon. As of November 2012, Groupon Goods generates billings of nearly $1.5 Billion USD.

Ruparell was most recently serving in the role of SVP Global Partnerships at Groupon. His day-to-day departure from Groupon was announced in January 2015, although he continues to remain an active advisor to the company.