Robert Gentz

We have done everything ourselves, and we still know how the process works.

— Robert Gentz

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Overview

Robert Gentz
Born	(1983-09-24) 24 September 1983 Düsseldorf, Germany
Citizenship	German
Education	WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management; EGADE Business School; University of Hawaii
Alma mater	WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, co-chief executive officer
Employer	Zalando SE
Known for	Co-founding Zalando SE
Title	Co-chief executive officer

👤 Robert Gentz (born 24 September 1983) is a German entrepreneur and co-chief executive officer of Zalando SE, a Berlin-based online fashion and lifestyle platform. He co-founded Zalando in 2008 and has overseen its transformation from a start-up shoe retailer into one of Europe’s largest online-only fashion companies, with operations in more than two dozen markets and annual revenues exceeding €10 billion. Under Gentz’s leadership, Zalando has pursued a platform strategy connecting brands, retailers and consumers across Europe, while also attracting attention for its unconventional executive pay model, internal management experiments and legal disputes with European regulators.

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Early life and education

🎓 Family background and upbringing. Gentz was born in Düsseldorf on 24 September 1983 and grew up with two brothers on his family’s horse and cattle farm near the city, where his mother worked as an agricultural economist and his father as a veterinarian. The rural setting and early exposure to manual work are frequently cited by Gentz as formative influences that instilled a strong work ethic and a down-to-earth outlook on business and leadership.

📚 Studies at WHU and international experience. A strong student with a particular interest in mathematics and business, Gentz enrolled at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar in 2003, pursuing the German Diplom-Kaufmann degree. During his studies he met fellow student David Schneider, with whom he shared an apartment and later co-wrote his thesis; the partnership would evolve into a long-term business association at Zalando. Through WHU’s dual-degree and exchange programmes, Gentz studied in Mexico and the United States, earning an MBA from EGADE Business School in Monterrey and spending time at the University of Hawaii by 2005, experiences that shaped his enduring interest in Latin America and broadened his international perspective.

🌎 Entrepreneurial trigger in Latin America. In early 2007, while backpacking on a beach in Guatemala, Gentz read a newspaper article about the sale of the German student social network StudiVZ for roughly €85 million, an episode he later described as pivotal in convincing him that building an internet company could be a realistic career path. By that time he had completed internships at Boston Consulting Group and Morgan Stanley, but the combination of his formal business training and exposure to fast-growing consumer internet businesses pushed him towards entrepreneurship rather than a conventional corporate career.

🚀 Unibicate and first entrepreneurial failure. Later in 2007, drawing on his affinity for Latin America, Gentz moved to Mexico with Schneider to launch Unibicate, a social networking platform aimed at university students in Mexico, Argentina and Chile. Seed funding was raised through the WHU network and pitches to German technology investors, including Oliver Samwer, but the venture struggled with a shortage of experienced programmers and an uncertain social-media business model. Within about a year Unibicate ran out of money, leaving the founders unable to finance their return to Germany until Samwer agreed to pay for their flights in exchange for several months of work at one of his companies, an episode that Gentz later highlighted as a painful but instructive lesson in scalability and focus.

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Career

🛒 Founding Zalando. After returning to Germany in 2008, Gentz and Schneider shifted their attention from social networking to e-commerce, concluding that an online retail model offered more predictable revenue and clearer unit economics than advertising-driven platforms. That year they founded Zalando in Berlin as an online shoe store inspired by the U.S. retailer Zappos, initially operating from a small apartment and testing demand by selling simple products such as flip-flops. The founders secured early backing from the Samwer brothers, including a €50,000 investment from Alexander Samwer and access to Rocket Internet’s developer resources, while Gentz personally handled online marketing and customer service in the company’s first months.

📈 Rapid growth and public listing. Zalando expanded quickly beyond footwear into broader fashion and lifestyle categories and, under the leadership of Gentz, Schneider and a third co-founder, Rubin Ritter, grew into one of Europe’s largest online-only apparel retailers. By 2013 the company employed more than 5,000 people and generated revenues of around €1.8 billion, representing annual growth rates in excess of 50 percent, and in October 2014 it completed an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that valued the business at over €5 billion. Following its listing, Zalando joined Germany’s MDAX index and later became a constituent of the DAX index, reflecting its status as one of the country’s most valuable listed companies.

🌐 Platform strategy and European expansion. As co-chief executive, Gentz played a central role in shifting Zalando from a traditional online retailer towards a broader platform model in the mid-2010s, opening the site to third-party brands and retailers that could sell directly to consumers using Zalando’s logistics and marketing infrastructure. Initiatives such as the Partner Program and multi-channel fulfilment services were presented by Gentz as ways of expanding assortment and revenue while limiting inventory risk, positioning Zalando as a comprehensive fashion platform rather than a pure retailer. In parallel, the company expanded geographically from its initial core markets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland into Western, Northern and Eastern Europe; by 2023 Zalando served 25 European markets with more than 50 million active customers and annual revenues exceeding €10 billion.

📉 Responding to macroeconomic headwinds. After benefiting from elevated online demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zalando faced slower growth amid inflation and weaker consumer sentiment in the early 2020s. In 2023 the company announced plans to cut several hundred jobs, equivalent to roughly 5 percent of its workforce, as part of a refocusing on efficiency and profitability following years of rapid expansion. In messages to staff and investors, Gentz and his fellow executives acknowledged that parts of the organisation had “expanded too much” during the pandemic and emphasised a renewed “profit protection” mindset while continuing to invest selectively in technology and platform services.

🤝 Co-leadership structure and management changes. Zalando has for much of its history been managed through a co-chief executive structure, which Gentz has described as balancing complementary skills among the founders and senior executives. For more than a decade he shared the role with Schneider and Ritter, before Ritter announced his resignation in 2020 in order to prioritise his wife’s career, a decision that drew attention for its explicit emphasis on work–family balance at the top of a large listed company. In 2021 Gentz and Schneider continued as co-CEOs, and in 2024 Schneider moved to an advisory role focusing on partnerships, while David Schröder, formerly chief financial officer and chief operating officer, was promoted to co-CEO alongside Gentz to lead Zalando’s B2B platform infrastructure. Gentz has characterised these transitions as evidence of a strong leadership bench and an ability to “rotate roles” as the company evolves.

💼 Philanthropy and other activities. Beyond his executive role at Zalando, Gentz has not pursued a large portfolio of external corporate directorships, instead concentrating on the company and related initiatives. In 2020 he co-founded the Kinnings Foundation with Schneider and Ritter to support young changemakers and expand opportunities for youth in eastern Germany, particularly in Thuringia, through targeted funding and mentoring programmes. Within Zalando he has overseen the introduction of employee share programmes and equal-pay initiatives, as documented in the company’s sustainability and annual reports, reflecting an emphasis on aligning financial incentives with broader social and corporate-culture goals.

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Financial profile

💶 Executive compensation structure. Gentz’s remuneration at Zalando has attracted attention because of its unusual mix of low fixed pay and high performance-linked components. For many years he and his co-founders voluntarily capped their base salaries at around €65,000, a level closer to that of a junior manager than a typical chief executive of a large listed company in Germany. Compensation consultants described Zalando’s scheme as a striking outlier in the German market, noting that much of the executives’ potential earnings lay in long-term equity-based incentives rather than in cash salary.

📊 Variable pay and equity incentives. Public disclosures indicate that Gentz’s total compensation has fluctuated sharply with Zalando’s performance. In years when the company significantly outperformed its targets and its share price rose strongly, notably around 2020 and 2021, long-term bonus plans were triggered that lifted his annual pay into the tens of millions of euros; in weaker years, such as 2022, his total remuneration declined to levels closer to a few hundred thousand euros. The structure is designed to link management rewards closely to shareholder value creation over multi-year periods, consistent with the founders’ emphasis on long-term performance.

🏛️ Ownership stake and wealth. Through successive funding rounds and the company’s listing, the founding trio’s combined stake in Zalando has been diluted but remains significant. As of the mid-2020s, Gentz, Schneider and Ritter together held a little over 5 percent of the company’s shares, a position that implies substantial personal wealth given Zalando’s multi-billion-euro market capitalisation, even though their holdings are smaller than those of some institutional investors. Gentz has not been a prominent figure on public rich lists, and available information suggests that he has largely retained his equity rather than realising it through large share sales, keeping much of his net worth tied to the company he co-founded.

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Personal life and leadership style

🏡 Private life and habits. Despite leading a high-profile public company, Gentz has generally kept his personal life away from the spotlight. He married his long-term partner in 2018 and has spoken about using the occasion to take one of his first extended holidays after years of intense work on Zalando. In interviews he has described himself as disciplined but not ascetic, noting that he aims to exercise regularly, sleep at least six hours a night and follow a balanced diet while still allowing for occasional indulgences. Colleagues and observers have often characterised him as approachable and modest, traits he himself links to his rural upbringing and early experience working on the family farm.

🧭 “Egoless” culture and management philosophy. Gentz has frequently contrasted his leadership style with that of more high-profile technology founders, emphasising a collaborative, low-ego approach and a focus on team rather than individual acclaim. Internally he promoted “egoless” as a formal company value at Zalando, encouraging flat hierarchies and a culture of open feedback; he has described the founding trio’s division of roles by saying that Schneider was “the heart”, he himself was “the belly” and Ritter “the head”, underscoring complementary strengths rather than a single dominant figure. Employees and commentators have noted that his detailed knowledge of Zalando’s operations, built up from the early start-up years when he handled tasks ranging from customer service to online marketing, contributes to a management style that combines data-driven analysis with pragmatic intuition.

🌱 Views on sustainability and the role of business. As chief executive, Gentz has become a prominent voice on sustainability in the fashion industry. In a 2023 interview he argued that “fast fashion must be shelved within a decade” and that the sector has “no alternative” but to embrace more sustainable models, even if this requires significant changes in sourcing, production and consumption patterns. Under his leadership, Zalando has committed to measures such as carbon-neutral own operations, expanded offerings of sustainable and second-hand products, and closer engagement with suppliers on environmental standards. Gentz has also endorsed the European social market economy as a framework that balances competitiveness with social responsibility, linking corporate success to broader societal outcomes.

🏙️ Berlin, Germany and international outlook. Gentz is closely associated with Berlin’s technology ecosystem and has repeatedly credited the city’s international talent pool and cultural openness as key enablers of Zalando’s growth, arguing that “Zalando was only possible in Berlin” rather than in other German cities. He has spoken out against pessimism about Germany’s economic prospects, contending that the country has “the best prerequisites” to remain a competitive business location if it focuses on innovation and an “attitude of opportunity”. His own career, shaped by extended periods in Mexico and the United States, reflects an international orientation that continues to influence Zalando’s strategy and his engagement with debates on Europe’s digital competitiveness.

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Controversies and challenges

📱 Zonar employee-evaluation system. One of the most discussed internal initiatives during Gentz’s tenure has been “Zonar”, Zalando’s proprietary employee-evaluation tool that encouraged continuous peer feedback and used algorithmic scoring to classify staff performance. A 2019 study by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, linked to German trade unions, criticised Zonar for allegedly fostering excessive pressure, encouraging competition between colleagues and raising data-protection concerns, and the media drew comparisons with fictional “gamified” workplaces. Zalando, under Gentz’s leadership, defended the system as voluntary and focused on development rather than surveillance, arguing that the study was based on a small, non-representative sample and insisting that Zonar complied with privacy regulations; over time aspects of the evaluation framework were adjusted in response to internal feedback.

✊ Diversity, racism allegations and workplace culture. In 2020 Zalando faced allegations of racism and discrimination following public complaints by a former art director, who claimed that concerns about casting Black models and comments about skin tones had not been adequately addressed. The company commissioned an external law-firm investigation, which concluded that the core allegations of systemic racism could not be substantiated but did identify instances of insensitive language and “microaggressions”. Gentz and his team responded by announcing a diversity and inclusion drive that included mandatory anti-bias training, revised imagery guidelines to better represent minorities, improved reporting channels for discrimination and a commitment to feature more brands led by Black and minority entrepreneurs on the platform. The episode highlighted the gap that can exist between an aspirational brand identity and everyday experiences within a fast-growing organisation.

🏭 Labour relations and works-council formation. As Zalando expanded its logistics network and office workforce across Germany and other countries, it encountered the practical challenges of labour relations in a large employer. In 2020 employees at the company’s Berlin headquarters elected a 31-member works council (Betriebsrat), bringing the firm into closer alignment with traditional German co-determination structures after years in which no such body existed. Trade unions have occasionally criticised working conditions in Zalando’s warehouses and called brief strikes, mirroring disputes seen at other e-commerce companies; management has pointed to internal surveys and retention data to argue that conditions are fair and that it values its logistics employees. The evolution of these labour structures marked a shift from start-up informality towards more institutionalised employee representation.

⚖️ Dispute over Digital Services Act designation. In 2023 Zalando was designated by the European Commission as a “very large online platform” under the new Digital Services Act (DSA), a classification that imposed stricter obligations regarding the monitoring and removal of illegal content. Gentz objected to the designation, contending that regulators had misinterpreted user metrics and failed to account for the fact that Zalando primarily operates as a retail platform rather than a social network or search engine, and in June 2023 the company brought a legal challenge against the Commission before the EU courts. The litigation made Zalando one of the first companies to contest the DSA regime and illustrated Gentz’s willingness to confront regulatory decisions he viewed as disproportionate. In September 2025 the General Court of the European Union rejected Zalando’s appeal, upholding its classification under the DSA; the company indicated that it would continue to explore legal options while implementing required compliance measures.

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Legacy and assessment

🏆 Role in European e-commerce and entrepreneurship. Commentators frequently present Gentz’s trajectory—from a farm in the Rhineland through elite business education and an early failed start-up to the leadership of a DAX-listed fashion platform—as emblematic of the rise of a new generation of European technology entrepreneurs. Under his co-leadership, Zalando has played a prominent role in establishing Berlin as a major European start-up hub, changing consumer habits in fashion retail and demonstrating that large-scale digital platforms can be built in continental Europe rather than only in the United States or China. At the same time, debates over executive pay, workplace monitoring tools, diversity and regulatory obligations suggest that Gentz’s tenure also reflects the tensions facing high-growth digital companies as they mature, balancing innovation with social expectations and legal scrutiny.

🧩 Public image and ongoing influence. Public accounts portray Gentz as analytical yet understated, more inclined to emphasise collective achievements than to cultivate a celebrity-founder persona. Anecdotes from Zalando’s early days—such as the first online order coming from the father of a friend in a shared office, or the choice of the company name “Zalando” as a play on the Spanish word for shoes, “zapatos”—reinforce the impression of a pragmatic, iterative approach to building the business. With Zalando now entrenched as a major European e-commerce platform and the Kinnings Foundation broadening his impact into philanthropy, Gentz remains an influential figure in discussions on digital entrepreneurship, sustainable fashion and Germany’s economic future.

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