Christopher D.
Co-Founder and Managing Director (Operations, Sales, Finance)
Experience
Mar 2016 - Sep 2021
5 years 7 monthsBerlin, Germany
Co-Founder and Managing Director (Operations, Sales, Finance)
Ivy & Oak GmbH
- Co-founded one of the fastest-growing European fashion brands focused on sustainable manufacturing
- Set up finances (including hiring an experienced CFO) and led fundraising; secured a low eight-digit € VC investment from top investors
- Designed the organization structure including SCM, customer service, legal and HR, sales and marketing, integrated a warehouse logistics provider, and introduced an ERP system
- Created the B2C and B2B go-to-market strategy starting in DACH and expanding to Europe
- Managed daily B2C sales operations (focus: performance marketing) and B2B sales (focus: winning key accounts like Zalando, ABOUT YOU, Breuninger, KaDeWe)
- Led a team of 20 FTEs, guiding hiring, training, coaching, problem-solving, decision-making, performance reviews, and handling performance issues and terminations
Jun 2013 - Apr 2015
1 year 11 monthsBerlin, Germany
Co-Founder & CEO
Kirondo GmbH
- Launched the first C2B2C online shop for second-hand clothing in DACH
- Set up finances and fundraising; secured a mid-seven-digit € VC investment from top investors and managed investor relations
- Oversaw 35 FTEs including an experienced leadership team; created a high-performance culture, set strategy, helped solve issues, made decisions, conducted performance reviews, and managed terminations
- Led the search for potential buyers, negotiated with Spanish competitor percentil.com, and achieved a successful sale
Nov 2012 - Jun 2013
8 monthsSydney, Australia
Global Operations Manager
Rocket Internet GmbH
- Advised Rocket Internet’s incubated companies “The Iconic” (AUS) and “La Moda” (RUS) on logistics
- Rolled out same-day delivery service in the Sydney and Melbourne metro areas
- Launched an in-house delivery fleet in Moscow and St. Petersburg metro regions
Sep 2011 - Sep 2012
1 year 1 monthBerlin, Germany
Category Manager “Home & Living”
Zalando GmbH
- Launched the new “Home & Living” category with full P&L responsibility; managed an €8M annual budget
- Led an 18-person cross-functional team of buyers, marketers, and operations specialists; set strategy, mentored the team, ran operations, and did performance reviews
- Wove product-specific needs into central services like marketing, tech, and customer experience
Mar 2010 - Sep 2011
1 year 7 monthsBerlin, Germany
Director of Operations
Zalando GmbH
- Built and led an in-house consulting unit for operations
- Hired and managed a 12-person team, overseeing onboarding, training, issue resolution, and decision-making support
- Helped operations units (customer service, text and image production, warehouse logistics) scale volume by ~500% YoY and optimize processes
- Designed and helped implement the first self-operated logistics center
Languages
German
NativeEnglish
AdvancedEducation
Aug 2008 - Dec 2008
Queen's University
Semester Abroad · Kingston, Canada
Aug 2006 - May 2009
University of Mannheim
B. Sc., Business Administration · Mannheim, Germany · 1,9
Jul 1996 - May 2005
Angell Gymnasium
Abitur · Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany · 1,3
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