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Zalando co-CEO Rubin Ritter intends to step down in 2021

08 Dec '20

3 min read

Rubin Ritter

Europe’s online platform for fashion, Zalando’s co-CEO Rubin Ritter has informed Cristina Stenbeck, chairperson of supervisory board, about his intention to step down from his role as co-CEO at the AGM in 2021. Stenbeck announced that the supervisory board will work together with Ritter to dissolve his contract, which as of today runs until November 2023.

“My decision is the result of many months of careful consideration. After more than 11 amazing years where Zalando has been my priority, I feel that it is time to give my life a new direction. I want to devote more time to my growing family. My wife and I have agreed that for the coming years, her professional ambitions should take priority. And regarding my own future, I am eager to allow myself time to explore new interests beyond Zalando. I have always felt that being a part of the Zalando team is a gift and a privilege, and it will be incredibly hard for me to leave it behind. Zalando has allowed me to be part of a stunning success story that has exceeded my wildest dreams. I will be transitioning out of my role at a time where the company continues to accelerate and remains uniquely positioned for future success. Zalando’s role in the European digital economy will further grow, and in my remaining months I will ensure that we continue to rapidly advance the execution of our strategy,” Ritter said in a press release.

“While the supervisory board clearly regrets Ritter’s decision, we have the highest respect for the underlying personal motivation and we greatly appreciate his transparency and openness in giving the board and the company ample time until his departure to secure the next steps of this management transition. During the nine years I have known Ritter, I have seen first hand the kind of commitment, strategic clarity and decisive leadership that Ritter has brought to Zalando. As we look to end arguably the most extraordinary year of Zalando’s history we can only be immensely grateful to Rubin and the broader leadership team for the position of strength in which Zalando finds itself today. We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with Rubin over the coming months, and we hope that he will remain close to Zalando for the long-term,” Stenbeck said.

Since 2010, Robert Gentz, David Schneider and Rubin Ritter have led Zalando as a team of three co-CEOs. During that time, Zalando grew from a startup to Europe’s leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle with 14,000 employees on its way to achieve more than €10 billion gross merchandise volume in 2020. Gentz and Schneider will continue to lead Zalando as co-CEOs after Ritter’s departure.

“When we started to ship the first shoes to our customers from the basement of our office, we did not know where the journey would lead us. It is impossible to overstate Ritter’s impact on Zalando’s success. We will miss him dearly as a strategic thinker and leader,” Gentz said in the release.

“Ritter always has been a role model to many in the company. We owe him a lot, as a business partner and friend. I am sure that he will stay closely connected to Zalando,” Schneider said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JL)

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