Zalando
Founders
Robert Gentz, David Schneider · Founded 2008 · HQ today: Berlin, Germany
Zalando was founded by Robert Gentz, David Schneider in 2008. It is now led by Robert Gentz.
Robert Gentz and David Schneider, who studied together at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, started Zalando in Berlin in 2008 with backing from Rocket Internet. It began as an online shoe shop modelled on the US retailer Zappos. Free delivery and generous returns helped persuade German shoppers to buy shoes without trying them on first. The company then added clothing and expanded across Europe.
| Founder | Role at founding | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Gentz | Co-founder & Co-CEO | — |
| David Schneider | Co-founder & Co-CEO | — |
Studied at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management before co-founding Zalando with backing from Rocket Internet.
Robert Gentz co-founded Zalando in Berlin in 2008 with David Schneider and has served as Co-CEO since. He led the company through its 2014 IPO, its 2021 DAX inclusion and the 2025 ABOUT YOU acquisition. Robert Gentz was born in 1983.
German entrepreneur.
David Schneider co-founded Zalando in 2008 alongside Robert Gentz. Backed by the highly aggressive, legendary German startup incubator Rocket Internet, Schneider helped blatantly clone the American Zappos model. He focused intensely on building massive, highly complex relationships with global fashion brands, convincing them to sell their premium inventory on a completely unproven German website. David Schneider was born in 1982.
Anna Dimitrova
Chief Financial Officer
As a key financial executive, she helps navigate the highly complex logistics costs of offering free shipping and returns across heavily fragmented European borders.
Robert Gentz
Co-founder & Co-CEO
Founder-led management of Zalando for its whole history.
David Schneider
Co-founder & Co-CEO
As Co-Founder and Co-CEO, he drives the absolute core brand relationships and highly lucrative expansion into premium luxury fashion segments.
Zalando was founded in Berlin in October 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, both business school graduates from WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.
Before Zalando, Gentz and Schneider moved to Chile and launched an online social networking platform called Unibicate, which failed when funding collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.
Oliver, Marc, and Alexander Samwer of startup incubator Rocket Internet provided seed funding, office space, and operational playbook advice to Gentz and Schneider to launch an e-commerce platform in Germany.
In late 2008, Gentz and Schneider personally packaged shoe orders in their Berlin flat and carried boxes by hand to the local post office, answering customer support calls on their personal cellphones.
Rubin Ritter, a fellow WHU alumnus and McKinsey consultant, joined the founders in 2010 as co-CEO, helping engineer the company's financial discipline, investor relations, and European scaling.
Gentz and Schneider convinced skeptical European footwear and apparel brands by guaranteeing premium brand presentation, no grey-market discounting, and managing customer returns professionally.
Through multiple funding rounds backed by Kinnevik, DST Global, and Baillie Gifford, the founders diluted their equity but retained significant operational authority through shared board leadership.
Zalando became Berlin's first major tech startup success story, turning the city into a global tech hub and inspiring hundreds of former Zalando employees to launch their own startups.
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