Dr. Torben Hansen to become Chairman of the Bonprix Management Board

In a further top-level change, the current Managing Director of E-Commerce, Sales Germany, Brand and Advertising, Markus Fuchshofen, is to leave Bonprix after almost thirty years with the company; following cordial mutual agreement he will step down on 31 January 2024. 

In Dr. Torben Hansen, the Otto Group has successfully recruited an outstanding fashion and e-commerce expert for the major role of Chairman of the Bonprix Management Board. Torben Hansen holds a Doctorate in Business Computer Science and joins Bonprix from Bringmeister, where as CEO he launched a dynamic transformation within the food-delivery business. As Managing Director of Bringmeister GmbH, Bringmeister Fulfillment GmbH and Bringmeister Logistik GmbH respectively, the fundamental change he launched also achieved the brand's independence from Edeka, its previous owner. Dr. Hansen successfully achieved double-digit sales revenue growth in the online supermarket business and decisively reduced variable costs.

Dr. Hansen gained his deep fashion-sector expertise from 2014 to 2022 at Zalando, ending his period there as Vice President Recommerce. In this role he developed Zalando's Recommerce activities from scratch, established a new business model in the European second-hand fashion market and decisively drove the internationalization of this offering forward in twelve countries.

After studying at Chemnitz University of Technology and being awarded an outstanding Doctorate by Saarland University, Torben Hansen went on to hold professional positions at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Saarbrücken, and the corporate and strategy consultancy McKinsey & Company.

Dr. Marcus Ackermann, Member of the Otto Group Executive Board, Multichannel Distance Selling, and Chairman of the Bonprix Advisory Board, comments: "I am very pleased that the Otto Group has been able to recruit Dr. Torben Hansen as the new Chairman of the Bonprix Management Board. His impressive professional career is characterized by outstanding achievements, high entrepreneurial drive and deep strategic know-how in various industries including the fashion sector. Torben Hansen brings with him precisely those competencies and expertise required to lead Bonprix into a sustainably successful future."

As Chairman of the Management Board, Dr. Hansen will succeed Dr. Richard Gottwald, who has held this position since 2019 and has been a Member of the Management Board since 2016. During this period Richard Gottwald has had a major impact on the company and has consistently aligned Bonprix with the challenges of the future.

With a Doctorate in Business Administration he began his Otto Group career in April 1989 as a Junior Controller and was promoted to Head of Purchasing Management Controlling in 1991. In 1993 he moved to the Otto Group Internal Management Consultancy as Head of Consulting Projects and was awarded Senior Staff status shortly afterwards. In February 1998 he joined Bonprix as Sales Manager Rainbow.

In 1999 Dr. Gottwald returned to the Otto Group to take over as Head of Internal Management Consulting; he was appointed Director of Internal Management Consulting around a year later. In 2004 Dr. Gottwald joined OTTO as Director of Sales, a position he held until he joined the Bonprix Management Board. From 2013 to 2016 he was also Senior Staff representative on the Otto Group Supervisory Board.

Dr. Marcus Ackermann comments: "I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Richard Gottwald, also on behalf of the Shareholders and the entire Group Executive Board, for his tremendous service to the Otto Group. Richard Gottwald has made an extremely valuable contribution to the Group at very diverse levels and in numerous management positions. He deserves the highest recognition for this. I will also miss his delightful sense of humour I wish Richard all the very best for the future, and above all, of course, robust good health."

In Markus Fuchshofen another very highly appreciated colleague is soon to leave the Bonprix Management Board, of which he has been a Member since 2016. Markus Fuchshofen has worked for Bonprix in a range of functions since 1994; among other things, during this period he has decisively driven the digital transformation of the fashion brand forward internationally.

Dr. Marcus Ackermann: "During his many years with Bonprix, Markus Fuchshofen has given outstanding service to the company. His outstanding retail expertise, strong leadership and innovative drive have contributed to Bonprix becoming one of the e-commerce fashion sector's top players today. I would like to express my warmest thanks to him for this and wish him all the very best for his personal and professional future."