Chrono24 will begin 2024 with a new CEO as Tim Stracke and Holger Felgner, who have been running the business since acquiring a small struggling marketplace in 2010 and turning it into the world’s largest specialist watch trading platform with 9 million monthly active customers.
Mr Stracke will become chairman and he and Mr Felgner will remain significant shareholders.
However, for the investors behind Chrono24, the time has come for fresh executive leadership, which comes in the form of Carsten Keller, who will take the reins of CEO on January 1.
“While the decision hasn’t been easy, Holger and I always knew that we would eventually need to find a successor to lead Chrono24 into the next phase of growth. Carsten’s expertise in the luxury industry and with fast-paced online marketplaces as well as his experience in the leadership team of a publicly traded company make him a one-in-a-million candidate to unlock the next chapter for Chrono24. We are very excited to witness all he will do.”
Mr Keller brings decades of online retail, marketplace, and strategy experience including the past eight years at Zalando, a publicly traded German fashion and beauty ecommerce business valued at € 5.76 billion where he was CEO of Connected Retail, a third party marketplace promoting thousands of brands and retailers to the 25 million active users of the main fashion site.
Deven Parekh, managing partner at Insight Partners, one of Chrono24’s lead investors, says the company’s board is indebted to Mr Stracke and Mr Felgner for their exceptional leadership and invaluable contributions, which have been pivotal to Chrono24’s success, and that Mr Keller is undoubtedly the best possible successor.
“He is a proven leader, a great cultural fit, has strong business vision and the ability to bring people together. His perspective on the global future of the luxury industry aligns perfectly with Chrono24’s needs as we embark on a new phase of further product innovation and growth,” Mr Parekh describes.
Mr Keller says he is honoured to have been offered the CEO role. “Chrono24 has revolutionised the luxury watch sector over the past 20 years. The opportunity ahead of us is huge. Now, a good part of my job will be to strengthen our ability to focus, innovate and accelerate – making Chrono24 the home for every watch enthusiast,” he promises.
Chrono24 facts and figures
- Founded 2003
- Acquired by Tim Stracke and Holger Felgner in 2010
- Secured €100 million funding in by General Atlantic with participation from Aglaé Ventures, a venture capital firm backed by Groupe Arnault, the controlling shareholder of LVMH.
- Aglaé Ventures is a technology-focused venture capital firm based in Paris, New York and San Francisco that is backed by Groupe Arnault, the controlling shareholder of LVMH.
- €200 million has been raised through all funding rounds. The 2021 investment valued the company at over €1 billion.
- Investors include General Atlantic, Insight Partners, Sprints Capital, Bernard Arnault’s Aglaé Ventures and Cristiano Ronaldo
- 35,000 trade and private sellers offer watches on the platform
- 530,000 timepieces are currently advertised
- More than 9 million monthly active customers globally.
