Co-Founder and Managing Director (Operations, Sales, Finance)
Berlin, Germany
Experience
Mar 2016 - Sep 2021
5 years 7 months
Berlin, 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
Led financial setup (incl. hiring experienced CFO) and fundraising; achieved win of low eight-digit € venture capital invest from well-known investors
Designed organizational setup including SCM, customer service, legal and HR, sales and marketing, integration of warehouse logistics provider, and introduction of ERP system
Developed B2C and B2B go-to-market strategy with focus on DACH and then expansion to Europe
Managed day-to-day B2C sales operations (focus: performance marketing) and B2B sales (focus: acquisition of key accounts such as Zalando, ABOUT YOU, Breuninger, KaDeWe)
Led a team of 20 FTE. Provided direction on hiring, training, coaching and development, problem resolution and decision-making, conducting performance evaluations, as well as managing performance issues and terminations
Jun 2013 - Apr 2015
1 year 11 months
Berlin, Germany
Co-Founder & CEO
Kirondo GmbH
Established first C2B2C online shop for second-hand clothing in DACH
Led financial setup and fundraising; achieved over a mid-seven-digit € venture capital investment from well-known investors and managed investor relations
Responsible for 35 FTE including experienced leadership team; Enabled high-performance environment, provided strategic direction, supported problem resolution and decision-making, conducted performance evaluations, as well as managed performance issues and terminations
Led the search and evaluation for potential buyers and managed negotiation with Spanish competitor (percentil.com) and achieved successful sale
Nov 2012 - Jun 2013
8 months
Sydney, Australia
Global Operations Manager
Rocket Internet GmbH
Consulted Rocket Int. incubated companies "The Iconic" (AUS) and "La Moda" (RUS) focused on logistics
Rolled out same-day delivery service for the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan regions
Launched self-operated delivery fleet in Russian metropolitan regions (Moscow, St. Petersburg)
Sep 2011 - Sep 2012
1 year 1 month
Berlin, Germany
Category Manager “Home & Living”
Zalando GmbH
Launched new category "Home & Living" with P&L responsibility; Managed ~8M€ in annual budget
Led a cross-functional team of 18 FTE, including buyers, marketeers and operation-specialists; Provided strategic direction and mentorship, managed operations, and conducted performance evaluations
Integrated product-specific requirements into corporate service centers such as marketing, tech and customer experience
Mar 2010 - Sep 2011
1 year 7 months
Berlin, Germany
Director of Operations
Zalando GmbH
Led development of in-house consulting unit for the area of operations
Hired and managed a team of 12 FTE including onboarding, training, supporting problem resolution and decision-making
Supported operations business units (customer service, text and image production, warehouse logistics) in scaling volumes to be processed (~500% YoY) and process optimization
Conceptualized and supported implementation of first self-operated logistics center
Languages
German
Native
English
Advanced
Education
Aug 2008 - Dec 2009
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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