Lars Karbe
Tech-empowered Generalist and First-Time Specialist
Experience
Co-Founder
Blocks of Change
- Development of an AI & finance solution for SMEs in Africa to analyze operational data for generating actionable business insights and evaluate eligibility for investment loans.
Project Director - Reconstruction Initiative
One Ukraine gGmbH
Developed a holistic housing solution to enable scalable post-war recovery in Ukraine in accordance with the principle “build back better” and Lean Construction.
Developed an affordable pre-manufactured modular housing system.
Real estate project management for the construction of residential housing in Ukraine including land plot acquisition, planning, fundraising and setting up partnerships.
Venture building of an affordable rental housing company in Ukraine.
Advocacy for the establishment of social housing with EU policymakers, Ukrainian ministers and local mayors.
Driving regulatory changes in building norms to enable multi-story timber housing.
Project Leadership, Business Consulting & Lecturing
Self-Employed
Lecturer for innovative product design at South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences for industrial engineers and computer science students.
Consulting projects for early stage new ventures in various fields: financial modelling, pitch preparation, MVP & go-to-market strategy development, market research, tooling.
Consulting the German development agency GIZ on social housing company setup.
Real estate development for refurbishment and upgrading of existing buildings.
Project Development Lead KOKONI Housing
INCEPT GmbH
Responsible for the real estate development of a small neighborhood in north Berlin (16,000 GFA, 84 townhouses, 56 m EUR total investment costs).
Setup of a new supply chain and partner ecosystem for a sustainable modular timber housing product.
Selection and contracting in accordance with HOAI/AHO, architectural competition, management of planners and subcontractors, securing of planning permissions.
Ensured cost control, quality and timely delivery. Managed the reporting and decision making process from concept to start of construction (LPH 0 to 7).
Brand creation from needs assessment, brand strategy, branding and product specification with now four projects under development in the company.
Managed the design of a cost-effective, fossil-free neighborhood energy model combining technologies such as PV, geothermal energy, decentralized water heating and e-mobility with an innovative financing and ownership structure.
Advocated changes in EEG draft law at the energy & economy committee of the German Bundestag to improve economic feasibility and to simplify regulations.
Project Lead Operations & Change Management
INCEPT GmbH
Led cross-functional change management projects after the merger of five businesses to enable the successful integration and scaling of the newly formed company with a portfolio of more than 700 apartments.
Managed the digital transformation of the company and processes by developing an inhouse project management tool, setting up internal databases, creating portfolio reporting and overseeing the implementation and administration of software tools for project management for multiple teams.
Senior Business Development Manager, Zalando Technology
Zalando SE
Supported Zalando’s shift from retailer to fashion platform by developing new business models, integrating partners and laying the foundation for strategic investments.
Ensured customer centric product development using design thinking, customer interviews and direct communication to identify needs of target group.
Project Lead Connected Retail: Pioneered successful pilot projects exploring new omnichannel business opportunities with retailers and strategic brand partners and authoring the strategy behind Connected Retail, which later scaled to 400+ people after securing board-level investment approval.
Product Manager Product Customization mi adidas: Responsible for the complex technology and business integration of a third party product customization solution into the Zalando platform.
Interim Lead Operations: Oversaw hiring and people development for B2B customer support team.
Pricing Manager & Inventory Controlling, Pricing Department
Zalando SE
Built and operated Zalando’s inventory pricing by creating an industry leading price steering system that optimizes profit contribution, stock turnover and discount rates at scale for 200,000 articles per year.
Lead of risk pricing team with 4 full-time direct reports.
Managed continuous development, alignment, and operational execution of price management processes with a yearly discount budget exceeding 200 m EUR.
Established a price management system from scratch, introduced profit contribution optimization with weekly innovation cycles, and tested and rolled out a machine learning forecasting tool.
Implemented a holistic sell-through strategy through cross-functional initiatives involving logistics, returns management, merchandise management, marketing, Zalando Lounge (outlet/off-price channel), country management, as well as onsite merchandising and catalog optimization.
Industries Experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.
Experienced in Construction (8 years), Real Estate (8 years), Fashion (6.5 years), Retail (6.5 years), Information Technology (4.5 years), and Education (4 years).
Business Areas Experience
The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.
Experienced in Product Development (11.5 years), Project Management (11.5 years), Strategy (7.5 years), Business Intelligence (7 years), Procurement (6.5 years), and Operations (5.5 years).
Summary
Tech-empowered strategic generalist with international experience in driving complex initiatives from concept to execution. From setting up Zalando’s industry leading risk pricing approach to developing an award winning townhouse project, I develop and own solutions that achieve outstanding results. I am calm under pressure and proactive by default and stay flexible and adaptable as things evolve.
Skills
- Strategy & Leadership: Strategy Development, People Management, Okrs, Roadmapping, Stakeholder Management, Change Management, Post-merger Integration, Public Speaking, Crisis Management
- Product & Venture: Discovery, Go-to-market, Partner Ecosystems, Business Modeling, Design Thinking, Pitch Deck Creation
- Real Estate & Energy: Project Development, Hoai/aho, Procurement/contracts, Cost & Schedule Control, Permitting, Timber Construction, Modular Construction, Energy Systems, Lean Construction
- Data & Pricing: Price Optimization, Forecasting, A/b Testing, Experimentation, Merchandise Management
- Tools: N8n, Airtable, Notion, Asana, Google Workspace, Office 365 (Incl. Administration), Gpts, Excel Incl. Modelling
- Bi: Database Setup, Reporting Structure, Controlling
Languages
Education
HWR Berlin & Ashcroft Business School
Double Bachelor Honors · International Business · Berlin, Germany · 1.3
Profile
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